The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in South Sudan will receive 37 new sniffer dogs to help the UN police search for explosive materials in 'protection of civilians' camps for displaced people.

UNMAS said the dogs will assist the UN Police to search protection of civilians sites on UN bases for explosive items in order to prevent flow of any weaponry into the camps where some 200,000 people have taken shelter from South Sudan's civil war.

Weapons have been routinely smuggled into the camps and used during fights inside.

Currently, UNMAS has six explosive detection dog teams that focus on entry point control and cargo searches in Juba.

The dogs when they arrive will be brought first to Gumbo to meet their human handlers and will then be deployed at UN sites in Juba, Bentiu, Bor, and Malakal.

UNMAS said the dogs are working animals and have been specially trained to perform the roles they will undertake. They are safe and friendly animals and have been screened for illness and disease and received the necessary vaccinations, the UN said.

“The welfare of the dogs is of prime importance to UNMAS, as is the safety of the communities within which they will be working,” UNMAS said.