Trainees during a visit of AU delegation on Friday, March 26, 2021. The peace soldiers are yet to be graduated | Credit | Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

The government has released details of the screened Necessary Unified Forces ahead of their graduation scheduled for the end of this month.

Information about the unified forces was made public after the presidency set the graduation date to the 30th of August.

The soldiers under military formation and reserved officers were trained at different cantonment sites across the country in the last three years.

According to the graduation timetable, a total of 52,002 forces are expected to graduate as the first batch.

This include 26,508 in greater Equatoria region, 15,682 in greater Upper Nile region and 9,812 in the greater Bahr el Ghazal region.

The forces are comprised of 3,500 VIP protection forces, 17,376 from the army, 20,386 police, 8,300 national security officers, and at least 2,440 officers of from prison service, wildlife service and civil defense.

In the Greater Equatoria region, 3,500 VIP protection forces are expected to graduate from Gorom training center, 1,723 in Maridi, and 500 from army personnel are also expected to graduate from Morota.

In Owinykibul, about 1,711 army personnel are expected to graduate, in additiona from 4,300 national security officers in Muni and 7,825 police in Rajaf.

2,440 prison and civil defense will graduate in Lologo, 509 senior police officers in Rambur and 4,000 national security officers in Agut-Makur.

In Greater Upper Nile region, there are 5,460 army officers, 3,405 police personnel in Twofogia, 1,765 army personnel in Panyier, 2,305 police personnel in Muom and in Kaljak there 2,747 army personnel.

This amounts to a total of 15,682 members of the organized forces.

Meanwhile, in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region, there are 2,300 army personnel in Mapel, 1,612 in Pantit, and in Masnabira there are 5,900 police personnel.

According to the National Transitional Committee (NTC), a body tasked with peace implementation, the graduation of the Necessary Unified Forces will start in Greater Equatoria region.

The graduation of the forces has been postponed several times.

The 2018 revitalized peace deal expects the unity government to graduate 83,000 unified forces drawn from the various parties to take charge of security during the ongoing transitional period.

Tens of thousands of forces have been assembled and trained at various cantonment sites and training centers across the country since 2019.

Dozens of trainees are reported to have died of starvation and sickness in cantonment and training sites as they awaited the graduation that never comes.

The government also made a number of failed pledges to graduate the forces.

However, factors such as insufficient funding, lack of political will among the peace parties, arms embargo and allegations of many ranks in the opposition forces are said to be complicating the efforts.