South Sudan wants to remove sanctions, complains that its forces are not armed

Michael Makuei Lueth, the Minister of Information and Communication, Technology and Postal Services of South Sudan has said, the first phase of the forces of the national unity government were sent to Malakal without weapons due to the obstacles that have made it difficult for them to get weapons. Makuei said this in front of journalists and added that: "We are sending them without weapons because we do not have weapons, the United Nations Security Council has decided to pass a resolution to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan, so we cannot get weapons for our forces." The two former enemies of South Sudan who are now cooperating in the government of national unity He added that it was the international community that urged us to send our troops to Upper Nile but we have been saying time and time again that we cannot send our forces without weapons." He also said that the forces trained in Upper Nile will be sent to Juba to join other forces from Bahr el-Ghazal. He has called on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to remove arms embargoes to enable them to arm the defense forces of the national unity government. The first batch of 53,000 South Sudanese soldiers graduated in August last year. In total, 83,000 soldiers are required to be trained and sent to various areas of South Sudan under the peace agreement that was strengthened in 2018 and which was signed in December 2013 to end many years of fighting in South Sudan.