The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has called on the South Sudanese government and opposition to hasten planning for the withdrawal of troops that are slated to leave Juba and for the deployment of a guard force for the newly appointed First Vice President Riek Machar.
Rebel leader turned vice president Riek Machar was appointed Thursday but has not yet returned to South Sudan. He told the BBC he could return in about three weeks depending on security arrangements.
Both parties to the peace deal last year have agreed to the partial demilitarization of Juba, but the bulk of government troops in the city have still not withdrawn.
In a statement, the Deputy Chairperson of JMEC François Lounceny Fall welcomed the appointment by President Salva Kiir of Machar as first vice president of the transitional government.
Fall “commended the Government for taking this step, necessary for the formation of the TGoNU. The Deputy Chairperson urged the Parties to hasten planning for the phased and sequenced implementation of transitional security arrangements for Juba, in order to accelerate the relocation of forces from the capital and begin the movement of Dr. Machar’s guard,” reads the statement.
“The Deputy Chairperson urged the Parties to intensify their efforts to form a complete Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) as soon as possible,” adds the statement.
Fall, the former prime minister and former foreign minister of Guinea, was appointed as deputy chairperson of JMEC last month. The body is responsible for overseeing implementation of South Sudan’s peace deal.