The Joint Military Ceasefire Commission (JMCC) on Tuesday revealed that it has established 17 cantonment sites to accommodate the second batch of unified forces from the ranks of the armed opposition forces.
Speaking after the JMCC’s meeting held in Juba on Tuesday, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, the SPLA-IO spokesperson, said armed opposition forces will be registered and screened at 17 cantonment centers before they are sent to training facilities.
“During the meeting, the JMCC reviewed and agreed to establish 17 more cantonment centers for the opposition forces where they will be registered and screened before they are sent to training centers,” he said. “The SSPDF will remain in their 10 main barracks while police and other organized forces will be cantoned in their general headquarters.”
“We have the state capitals headquarters which have 10 military headquarters and the barracks in the 3 administrative areas making it 13 cantonment centers where organized forces will be cantoned,” Col. Lam added.
He said the second phase of training of the unified forces drawn from the former rebel soldiers will kick off in the next few months. He added that about 6 cantonment centers have been established in the Equatoria region, 3 in the Bahr el Ghazal region, and 8 in the Upper Nile region.
“Technically we have started with this meeting but practically on the ground we will have to wait for a few more days because this report is taken to the Joint Defense Board (JDB) which will have to forward it to the National Transitional Committee (NTC) from which a budget has to come for this process to move,” Lam explained. “I believe within these remaining few months, this process will kick off.”
He said any soldiers who fail to report to cantonment centers with their weapons will not be registered.