South Sudan Defense Minister Angelina Teny speaks to senior military officers attending the training in Nairobi, Kenya on Monday Dec. 7, 2020. Credit|Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Defence

South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and opposition army commanders have started a leadership peacebuilding and reconstruction training to facilitate the unification of forces cantoned at the training sites across the country.

According to the Press Secretary in the Office of the Minister of Defense and Veteran’s Affairs, Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel,  the training was opened by Minister Angelina Teny on Monday in Nairobi, Kenya.

The revitalized peace agreement requires the cantonment, screening, and training of 83,000 Necessary Unified Forces to safeguard the deal through the Transitional Period.

The induction workshop is expected to help senior military officers implement the nucleus of the security arrangements which include the graduation of already-trained forces.

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

But later, the Joint Transitional Security Committee — a body in charge of the training of thousands of joint government and opposition troops, said the forces have completed training and were awaiting graduation.

Their graduation has been postponed for more than twice this year over claims of inadequate funds.

Political analysts believe delaying the deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces poses a threat to the unity government.

In the past two weeks, there have been reports of clashes in the Kajo-Keji area in Central Equatoria State between the SPLA-IO and the SSPDF after General Moses Lokujo switched to the SSPDF.

Hundreds of civilians have reportedly been displaced by the conflict that started at the Moroto training site.

Following the clashes, the main opposition group called for speedy unification of the forces to avoid the recurrence of conflict in other parts of the country.

First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, who is also the chairman of the SPLM/A-IO emphasized on the importance of unifying the command of the various forces.

“The SPLA-IO senior commanders, the SSPDF senior commanders, and the SSOA senior commanders need to start the process of the unification of the command of the forces,”  Machar told an SPLM/A-IO conference in Juba on Saturday.

“If you do not have a unified command, you cannot graduate forces because who do you hand the forces to?” he asked. “Obviously the SPLA-IO will say we don’t subscribe to a command we are not a party to.”