The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army in opposition in the Western Equatoria region has appealed to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to support signatories to the revitalized peace agreement reached in September 2018 to speed up its implementation.

Sector commander Lieutenant General Alfred Futuyo made the appeal during a meeting with the Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping mission, Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, who was visiting Yambio to assess the implementation of security provisions in the peace deal.

Lieutenant General Futuyo said that, despite the challenges they faced at their cantonment site, his troops have started moving to a training centre in Maridi, while non-military organized forces have travelled to Juba for their capacity building. Once trained, the soldiers are expected to be incorporated into a unified national army.

“My message is that UNMISS should stand strongly with our political leaders to accelerate the implementation of the agreement this time,” he said, adding that most soldiers are tired of staying in  the bush and longing for a chance to enjoy living in towns with their families to contribute to the development of South Sudan.

Lieutenant General Tinaikar described his meeting with the opposition forces as “fruitful” and said that tangible progress has been made.

“I’m told that food has been provided, the soldiers are all ready to move, and some of them have already been transported, which is very good,” the Force Commander commented. “The outlook is very positive, and part of the unified forces will get trained and be deployed before the deadline for the establishment of a transitional government of national unity.”