A cohesive force of 750 individuals, comprising soldiers from the signatories to the 2018 peace agreement – namely, SSPDF, SPLA-IO, and SSOA – arrived unarmed in Malakal, Upper Nile state, on Wednesday. They were dispatched from the capital, Juba.
Confirming the arrival of the first deployed battalion in Malakal, SPLA-IO spokesperson Col. Lam Paul Gabriel told Sudans Post that the unified peace forces, deployed to Upper Nile state last week, reached the state capital on Wednesday morning.
Col. Lam pointed out that the forces await directives from the unified army command in Juba. He warned that any delay in deploying them to designated areas might pose significant challenges.
“They are already in Upper Nile. They reached Malakal on Wednesday morning. We are waiting for further directives from the CDF [Chief of Defense Forces] and the leadership in Juba,” he said. “We wait for the committee to be able to come to the command [headquarters] in Juba, and then they let us know what to do.”
Estimating that directives would arrive within a week, Col. Lam cautioned that prolonged stay in Malakal could exacerbate challenges. He explained, “I believe it will never take long because the longer they take in one place, the more challenges could start facing them.”
He outlined serious conditions, including operation costs, arming soldiers, and ensuring food availability for deployment, especially considering the accessibility challenges in Upper Nile state.
Col. Lam disclosed that Juba expects additional forces from Unity State, Upper Nile, and Bahr el Ghazal to arrive soon before deployment. “There is also ready 150 soldiers in the Muom Training Center of Leer County in Unity State. They started their journey to Juba on Tuesday, having left Panyijiar County. They were transported to Juba, and we also have another group in Bahr el Ghazal, with an additional group in the Upper Nile region that will be in Juba within the next week.”
Hundreds of unified forces were deployed at a long-overdue ceremony on 15 November, marking progress for the country’s lumbering peace process.
The unification of forces was a key condition of the 2018 peace deal that ended a five-year conflict in which nearly 400,000 people died.