South Sudan’s Parties Graduate First Batch of 1,000 Military Instructors
Military Instructors Pose For A Group Picture During Their Graduation Ceremony (File/Supplied/SSNN)
South Sudan’s Government has for the first time graduated a batch of military instructors. According to the Joint Defense Board (JBD), the 1,000 army trainers graduated at the Luri Military Training Center, will play an important role in training government forces and opposition armed groups before the formation of a unified national army.
Speaking to the media during the graduation ceremony, Shailesh Tinaiker, one of the commanders of the UN Mission in South Sudan peacekeepers commended the steps taken by the Parties and congratulated the military instructors on their successful graduation.
“I am very happy to be here at this graduation ceremony of instructors who would go on to form the unified forces of South Sudan. You are the pioneers, your training period has been very short which is 10 days but you have a huge responsibility to attain,” he stated.
“You will be responsible for training the combined and unified forces of South Sudan. You have been selected by your leaders in a project which has a tremendous implication on national integrity and security,” he further added.
For his part, a representative of the Joint Defense Board (JDB), Thomas Jal Thomas expressed his appreciation to donor countries, especially the Chinese government and Egypt, for their firm support for the peace agreement in South Sudan.
“We want to thank all those countries that supported us materially because you can see now the uniform they are wearing is donated from Egypt and the food we are eating is a donation from China,” he said.
According to the provisions of the revitalized peace agreement, South Sudan’s warring parties are supposed to form a combined force totaling 83,000 to take over and ensure the safety of the country’s population until the end of the transition period.
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