Deployment of the first battalion of forces is commendable but more should follow

The deployment of the first battalion of unified forces consisting of 750 soldiers to Malakal town of Upper Nile is commendable, but the transitional government needs to speed up the process.

In August 2022, the government graduated 53,000 unified forces consisting of police, military, prisons and wildlife and intelligence.

The process of their deployment has taken months, due to disagreement over the ratio of the command structure including logistical constraints and arms embargo.

The unified forces are supposed to take charge of security during the ongoing extended transitional period that will elapse in December 2024.

Over all, the parties to the revitalized peace agreement are supposed to graduate 83,000 unified forces, but going by the timeline this could easily not be achieved.

Hundreds of criminal incidents have been recorded since the time these forces were passed out.

Several ambushes have taken place, including the rise in communal clashes that have left several people killed.

Experts have blamed these violent incidents on the vacuum created by the delay in deploying the unified forces. The parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement need to speed up the deployment of the remaining soldiers, and also commence the second phase of training ahead of the upcoming elections