South Sudan People's Defense Force Battalion flagged off for a regional peacekeeping operation in 2022 (Photo: Lou Nelson/Eye Radio).

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said one battalion of the troops that the country contributed to the East Africa Regional Forces is yet to set foot in DR Congo.

Deng Dau Deng made the statement in the Burundian capital Bujumbura where he traveled for the regional oversight mechanism summit on Friday.

He did not go into detail as to why the forces have not yet made it to the volatile eastern DRC region – five months after they were ceremoniously waved off in Juba.

“We have made our statement as part of the contributing countries to the situation in eastern DR Congo. “Currently, we have 300 at the regional headquarters in Goma, but still, we have one battalion which was supposed to go to Dunga.” he said in a recorded press statement.

A battalion is an army unit consisting of four to six companies and can include up to about 1,000 soldiers and commanded by a lieutenant colonel.

East African foreign ministers attended the summit to discuss action plans for peace and security in the region and particularly in the DRC and Sudan.

Acting Minister Dau also said he has briefed the foreign ministers on the situation in Sudan and his government’s efforts to forge a ceasefire.

“We have also agreed on the topics that are to be discussed and we have revisited most of the issues, particularly on the current security situation in the region.”

“The situation in Sudan was also discussed. I gave a briefing on what the IGAD and President Salva Kiir are doing to try to stop that war.”

South Sudan has committed nearly one thousand soldiers to the regional operations against rebel insurgencies in the North Kivu Province.

This is in addition to thousands of soldiers – including from Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi – in the East African peacekeeping force.

However, the mission is mired with uncertainty after its Kenyan commander of the East African Community Regional Force Major General Jeff Nyagah resigned on April 28^th.

In his resignation letter, Major General Jeff Nyagah said he was leaving because of concerns for his safety after consistent harassment by forces he described as ‘mercenaries’.