South Sudan army continues border recruitment
May 8, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s army (SPLA) on Tuesday said passed out 830 recruits who underwent intensive basic military training at a military base in Mapel, Western Bahr el Ghazal State, which borders Sudan, as mobilisation of young men into the army continues.
Both North and South Sudan launched recruitment campaigns in March as border skirmishes and tension of oil and other issues escalated into what some analysts described as all-out-war in April over the Heglig oil region which is claimed by both sides.
The new recruits to the SPLA vowed allegiance to defend the young nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and were told to “never compromise” by General Pieng Deng Kuol, Deputy Chief of General Staff for Administration.
The border conflict and the SPLA’s ten-day occupation of Heglig had been a test of South Sudan’s military strength, Kuol said.
The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) “can now attest if they are honest with themselves your competence to defend territorial integrity of this country”, General Pieng told the new batch of recruits and members of militia groups being integrated into the country’s army.
Mapel is one of the military training centres where the army is currently engaged in orientation and transformation programs aiming at turning the former rebel movement into conventional army.
Kuol repeated South Sudan’s position that it withdrew from Heglig – known as Panthou in the South – voluntarily in response to international pressure and condemnation.
He said “your colleagues in Panthou were withdrawn because the government was under pressure from the international community. We withdrew because our cabinet had agreed and as an army we responded”, he said.
Khartoum, however, claim that SAF forced the SPLA out of the area by forced inflicting a loss of over 1,000 men.
Military sources told Sudan Tribune that most of the newly trained soldiers would be deployed to the tense border with Sudan.
Kuol congratulated the young men and women for passing the eight-month programme, which included weapons training, field craft, tactics, intelligence, and peacekeeping operations, amongst others.
“The reward lies mainly in the honour, pride and satisfaction associated with the sacrifice and selfless service that you would be rendering in defence of this country, the dignity of the lives of our people, and their properties,” he stated.
Kuol added that SPLA was striving to improve professionalism and develop, from the guerrilla rebel movement it is was in when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, into a national military.
The government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring better efficiency in the armed forces he said, including basing promotion on merit and “nothing else.”
Kuol told the 830 new soldiers that serving the world’s youngest nation would be demanding and full of challenges, and impressed upon them that the military is a disciplined and structured institution where they are expected to always exhibit high moral and professional standards. SPLA soldiers are often accused of human rights abuses.
The senior SPLA figure reminded the new soldiers that the army was subordinate to civilian authority and urged them to nurture cordial civic relations in the areas they operate.
The ceremony, which was characterised by military songs, a parade and exhibition of various military skills and tactics culminated in a surprise award ceremony for outstanding recruits.
(ST)