Some tents sheltering the military trainees at Rejaf. File photo: Woja Emmanuel/Eye Radio.

Representatives of peace parties to the ceasefire monitoring body have expressed concern over the increasing deaths of soldiers at Rejaf training center.

In February this year, instructors at Rejaf unified police training center said two trainees had died and at least 200 others report to a military clinic daily due to poor living conditions.

Rejaf training center accommodates about 7,000 government and opposition forces that were selected from various states as part of the training and unification of forces.

Between October and November last year, four senior SPLA-IO officers at Ngiri cantonment site in Mundri West County of Western Equatoria reportedly died due to lack of medicines and poor living conditions.

Chapter two of the revitalized peace agreement requires the cantonment, screening, and training of 83,000 Necessary Unified Forces to safeguard the peace deal.

According to the peace deal, unifying the forces will provide security guarantees for the transitional government of national unity, unlike in 2016 when the forces were divided.

However, in March, the peace parties suspended the training of the forces in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Major General Martin Abicha, the SPLA-IO representative to the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), says the center is not conducive to accommodate the forces.

“Just in the last few weeks, several soldiers died at Rejaf and there are several soldiers dying in other areas and even training centers,” Abicha said during the opening session of the 19th CTSAMVM meeting of the Technical Committee in Juba on Wednesday.

“These centers were not equipped to support these forces. We need to really know what is happening there, why these forces are dying?

The National Pre-transitional Committee cum National transitional Committee often said it had received tens of millions of US dollars. However, little is known about how the monies were spent after the Kiir administration ignored calls to have NPTC account for the funding.

But Major General David Nyang, the SSOA representative, argues that forces at the cantonment and training sites are living under difficult conditions.

“Forces in training sites continue to suffer in fighting hunger and diseases, the centers were not adequately established with visible lack of basic necessity including shelter,” Nyang said.

“With the rainy season that just started, lack of adequate shelter will expose the forces to the risk of disease hence aggravate the already worsening situation.”

Speaking during the same event, Major General John Daniel, who represents the incumbent TGoNU, blamed the international community for its failure to support the peace implementation.

“Yes, we do appreciate some of the IGAD countries [and] friends who do donate some uniforms and other things like medicines to the training centers. But there is a lot to do with the training all of us here are military officers, we know what it means by training,” he said.

The ceasefire monitor had earlier warned that the cantonment sites were nearing collapse due to lack of logistical support.