The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) has announced the successful completion of the verification exercise of unified forces in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region.
This development comes after the SSPDF and SPLA-IO jointly issued a statement last month, urging all members of the organized forces who had completed training to report to their respective centers for the verification exercise.
According to SSPDF Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Koang Ruai Koang, the primary objective of the verification exercise is to assess the current status of forces within their respective army formations. Additionally, the outcome of the exercise will play a crucial role in determining the deployment of the forces.
“Verification has been completed in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, with three training centers covered, including Mapel and Masn Bira in Western Bahr el Ghazal, and Pantit in Northern Bahr el Ghazal,” Gen. Ruai exclusively to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday from the SSPDF Headquarters in Bilpham, Juba.
He however said that the findings of the verification exercise are yet to be officially shared with the Joint Defense Board (JDB).
“The findings for the verification exercise in that region are yet to be presented so I do not have details to share at this moment,” Gen. Ruai added.
Furthermore, the SSPDF mouthpiece revealed that the verification process for the Greater Equatoria region is currently ongoing, while the commencement of the verification for Upper Nile is still pending.
Regarding the commencement of the second phase of training of the Necessary Unified Forces, Gen. Ruai said he was not certain when it would kick off.
“The second phase will not start immediately because the results of the verifications need to be presented to the JDB which will then formulate their deployment strategies, and only after the forces are deployed can we initiate the second phase of training,” he revealed.