A bang is heard, and two children who have been playing with objects they have found drop to the ground, remaining motionless. The audience gasps, as an eerie silence follows. Between loud sobs, a wailing relative is heard asking about the noise as she calls for urgent help.

It’s a hot Friday afternoon in the UN mission’s Malakal office. Everyone seated around the table in the conference room knows that it is going to be yet another working weekend. The atmosphere is tense, yet calm.

As the deadline for the pre-transitional period draws closer, following the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Davi