South Sudan says struck a deal with US over protection force

August 25, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan has claimed it reached a consensus with the US and the region to be given a time, during which it would expedite the implementation of the peace agreement while discussions about the deployment of a regional protection force in the country continues.

Information and broadcasting Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, who led the government delegation to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the US secretary of state had visited recently, announced that the outcome of the recent meeting between a delegation from Juba and the US Secretary of State approved the deployment of the force approved by the UN Security Council after conclusion of discussions.

The government, according to Minister Lueth, who speaks on its behalf, has been given conditions to expedite the implementation process and cease hostilities.

“We would be given time provided that we moved very fast, provided that we silence the guns, provided that we talked to the IDPs so that they move out of the displacement camps so that they go back to their respective homes, and then we continue to negotiate with the region on the idea of the protection force,” said Lueth. He said regional protection force will not be deployed immediately as expected.

“They are not coming soon and we are to negotiate, because there is no way an intervention force or a foreign force can enter any nation without the consent of that country.

But Lueth claimed the forces will not be deployed immediately to the country as expected, US secretary of John Kerry said the deployment of a protection force will guarantee safety of the civilians and enable investors to return to the country.

The US secretary of state confirmed that 4,000 troops from the region would complement efforts of the unity government by providing security to civilians in Juba.

(ST)