We are closely monitoring South Sudan situation, says UPDF
The Ugandan army, UPDF has said they are closely monitoring the situation in South Sudan following a fight amongst the forces loyal to Vice President, Dr.Riek Machar.
Earlier this month, reports of fresh fighting were reported in the youngest nation in Africa when rival factions in Machar’s Sudanese People’s Liberation Army In Opposition (SPLA-IO) said they had ousted Machar as the group’s leader.
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It was reported that over 30 people were killed in the fresh fights said to be in the Upper Nile State that borders Sudan.
Addressing journalists on Monday, deputy Defence spokesperson, Lt Col Ronald Kakurungu said whereas the fighting is not anywhere near the Ugandan border, the UPDF is monitoring the situation to see what happens next.
“That place(Upper Nile State) is far away from the border with Uganda but a situation in a neighbouring country particularly South Sudan where we have a lot of security and other interest as a country , we are as a force monitoring the situation,” Kakurungu said.
“We have representatives in the ceasefire and transition security arrangements, monitoring and verification mechanism which is based in Juba and keep giving us daily feeds on the situation to make sure that the situation doesn’t in any way spill over and affect our people in Uganda.”
The deputy Defence spokesperson said IGAD on August 9, held a meeting and addressed themselves to the situation.
War broke out in the youngest nation in Africa in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Dr.Riek Machar.
In November 2018 the warring parties in South Sudan signed an agreement to form a unity government, which would see Machar return to government as vice president and the same was supposed to have been implemented by May 2019 before elections in 30 months but the period was extended by another six months until November 12, 2019.
South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir finally agreed to form a coalition government and President Museveni who is one of the guarantors of the transitional agreement last year in November sent Maj Gen James Birungi to monitor on behalf of the guarantors, the assembling, screening, demobilization and integration of the armed forces of South Sudan.
In 2013, UPDF deployed troops in South Sudan that helped avert a genocide as well as protecting key government installations.
A number of Uganda’s exports go to South Sudan and consequently, any form of fighting in the youngest nation in Africa directly affects the former .
