Over three quarters of army graduates absent from training centers

By Awan Achiek

The Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) on Tuesday disclosed that over three-quarters of soldiers who graduated in Phase 1 under the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) have failed to report to training centres for deployment.

“Less than a quarter of Phase 1 (soldiers) who graduated from training centers between August 2022 and January 2023 has been deployed. In other words over three-quarters of army graduates did not respond to the order to return to training centers for deployment in November 2023,” said Maj. Gen Hailu Gonfa Eddosa, the Chairperson of CTSAMVM during the board meeting held in Juba.

“If elections go ahead as planned, there is only about 9 months remaining to deploy sufficient numbers of NUF to provide credible security during the election period. Urgent action is required,” he added.

Gonfa said that the formation of the NUF is a vital prerequisite for the upcoming elections of which he said only about 6 percent of the planned 83,000-strong NUF has actually been deployed.

He expressed concern that if this pattern is repeated many of those Phase 1 graduates from other security services that are yet to be deployed may also prove unavailable.

“There is also a concern that many Phase 1 personnel currently assigned to cantonment sites will not respond to orders to start training. This could result in the final numbers of NUF being far less than planned,” Gonfa said.

He said it is encouraging that some of the NUF already deployed have been sent to sensitive areas such as Tonga in Upper Nile State.

“But it must also be remembered that many are unarmed, and they remain deployed under the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) rather than unified command,” Gonfa said.

He said CTSAMVM is aware that a team from the Joint Defense Board (JDB) has been visiting some cantonment sites and training centers, adding that there are no indications when Phase 2 training and deployment might start.

“Cantonment site and training center commanders continue to report a lack of any information about what will happen next,” Gonfa disclosed.