Nicholas Haysom, the Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of UN Mission in South Sudan -Credit: Charles Wote/Eye Radio -14th April 2022

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan says it has alerted the government of undeclared ammunition being transported into Juba by a contingent from troop contributing country.

In a press release to Eye Radio’s newsroom , the mission said “the 16 boxes of ammunition were included amongst cargo on a charter flight which landed in Juba on 6 February 2024.”

It said the ammunition was not declared on the manifest that had been “provided to and cleared by the Government of South Sudan.”

UNMISS says the contingent did not advise UNMISS that it intended to transport ammunition.

However, when the ammunition was discovered while the cargo was being unloaded in Juba, the mission immediately informed all relevant authorities within the Government of South Sudan.

“I would like to underscore that UNMISS itself took immediate action to alert the South Sudanese authorities to this regrettable incident as soon as we became aware.

“It is important to be open and honest in these situations, and the mission is now working closely with the Government to address this issue,” said Nicholas Haysom. the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMISS.

According to UNMISS, the matter will also be raised with the troop contributing country for further action.