25 December 2013 - UNMISS Deputy Force Commander Brigadier General Asit Mistry said today it was not yet known when new forces would arrive to bolster the mission’s peacekeeping force in conflict-torn South Sudan.

“The timeframe is not yet certain,” Brig. Gen. Mistry said in Entebbe, Uganda, where he was en route from New York to the South Sudanese capital Juba. "The idea is to get them (there) as soon as possible. But all of them will not come in one go. They will trickle in.”

As requested by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council authorized on 24 December the new troops, which will almost double the UNMISS force to about 14,000.

The troops will temporarily increase the mission’s strength to 12,500 military and 1,323 police from a current combined strength of some 7,000.

Units will be transferred if necessary from other UN forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Abyei, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia to assist with the crisis, which has left hundreds of civilians dead and tens of thousands driven from their homes.

Brig. Gen. Mistry said he had been told the situation in Juba was reasonably stable and that troop morale was high. “Whatever contact I have had … it seems everybody is in absolutely fine fettle and ready to face their challenges.”

The deputy force commander, who has been stationed in South Sudan for over two years, said he had developed affection for the people and respect for the country. “I wish I was returning to South Sudan under better circumstances. However, as a soldier one responds to the call of duty and I am here."