David Shearer, Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan has expressed concerns over the possibility of cantoned soldiers returning to the communities if the parties do not quickly unify the forces.

David Shearer believes the longer the soldiers continue to remain at the cantonment site, the greater the risk of losing them external pressure such as the need for better living conditions.

His concerns are similar to recent anxieties expressed by the ceasefire monitoring body – CTSAMMVM which also raised fears over soldiers deserting the unified force training sites across the country.

The body warned that the cantonment sites were nearing collapse due to a lack of food, logistical, and medical supplies for soldiers.

“As a result of lack of food, logistics and other things being supplied to the training centres, people are starting to leave and move back,” David Shearer told the press in Juba yesterday. “This is worrying and a couple of levels attestable because people are being disillusioned with the fact that it has continued on and that disillusionment is never a good thing.”

He appealed to the peace parties to quickly unify their forces.

“It leads to frustration and hunger and possibly violence and it also means a number of people who were there with the promise of joining the army forces are now going back to villages or perhaps on roads to villages can cause further instability as well,” he stated.

In February, instructors at Rajaf Unified Police Training Centre told Eye Radio that two trainees died, and at least 200 others reported to a military clinic daily due to poor living conditions.

The following month, government soldiers at a training centre in Jonglei state said they lack sleeping mats, mosquito nets, medical supplies and were sleeping under trees.

Another soldier from Western Bahr-el-Ghazal State also revealed that they were surviving on salt-flavoured “posho” or “asida” at Wau training centre.