18 December 2014 - As part of efforts to ensure security for displaced persons, UNMISS and the UN Mine Action service (UNMAS) today destroyed weapons and ammunition found in its camp in Nasir, Upper Nile State.

Among objects demolished were 21 AK 47 rifles and an MI-16.

UNMISS State Coordinator Deborah Schein said the mission was clearing its base of any weapons or ammunition connected to the current conflict. Nasir was phase two of the effort, which began with a demolition exercise at UNMISS in the capital Malakal last week.

“As UNMISS State Coordinator my wish for holiday season is to see peace prevail and not see the suffering continue,” Ms. Shein said. “I wish for the safe and voluntary return to their homes of all internally displaced persons.”

‘My hope is for the people of South Sudan to come together to build a strong and prosperous nation based on the principles of human rights and respect international humanitarian laws,” she added.

UNMISS has sheltered thousands of people in bases in Renk, Melut, Nasir and Malakal since conflict broke out in the county in December 2013.