Trainees are seen in sandals or flip-flops at the Maridi Training Center on Saturday, Feb 29, 2020. Credit | Haitham Aweet

The government has disclosed that more than forty thousand trained soldiers will soon be deployed to restore security in South Sudan.

It hopes the first batch of the unified forces, once graduated and deployed, will disarm civilians and help end communal violence.

“For permanent stability, the country must immediately conduct disarmament of the civil population,” said Dr. James Wani Igga, Vice President for Economic Cluster.

The UN Mission in South Sudan says revenge attacks and cattle-related killings remain the biggest security challenge after political violence subsided in the country.

Observers attribute the conflict to cattle raids, child abductions, and revenge killings.

Others believe the absence of trained security forces makes it difficult to restore peace and stability.

There are thousands of SSPDF, SPLA-IO, and Opposition Alliance troops at various training camps across the country.

They have been at the cantonment sites for nearly two years with some choosing to leave over lack of food, shelter, and medication.

According to Vice President Dr. Igga, half of the 83,000 unified forces will be deployed across the country to restore the rule of law.

“This should be our priority because most of the casualties are civilians -gunmen and gun women,” he emphasized.

Two weeks ago, President Salva Kiir and his deputies instructed relevant government agencies to speed up the graduation of the unified forces under one command.

“We are now graduating half of that [83,000] so that the second batch will enter the training centers. They are supposed to be two batches, all amounting to 83,000,” Dr. Wani Igga said on Wednesday during the launch of the oil licensing round in Juba.

The revitalized peace deal expects the unity government to graduate 83,000 Necessary Unified Forces, unify their command, and redeploy the forces to provide security and safeguard the gains of the peace deal.