Two police trainees have recently died and more than 200 others visit health facilities daily due to the poor living conditions at Rejaf police training center in Central Equatoria State, an instructor said.

Speaking during a visit of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) officials and ceasefire monitors to the training centre last week, Brig. Gen. Yasir Leon said the trainees share plates and other utensils.

He explained that the poor living condition at the training site is exacerbating the spread of diseases. Yasir added the trainees defecate in open spaces to due to lack of toilets.

Rejaf training center reportedly accommodates about 7,000 government and opposition forces brought from across the country.

“We don’t have washrooms, no clean water, there are no latrines and diseases have emerged. Now two trainees have died due to this poor hygiene and improper sanitation. Here, people use the same plates and cups for food. Some people wait for saucepans from their colleagues,” said Yasir.

He added, “There are diseases infecting people here. Every day, about 200 people report to the medical facility, but there are no medicines. For almost a week now we are asking for medicines, but we have not got them”.

In December last year, the national government allocated $16.5 million for the security mechanisms to expedite creation of unified forces.

The process of gathering fighters into military training camps with a view to forming a unified army is a cornerstone of the 2018 peace deal.