An SPLA soldier is pictured behind a South Sudan flag as he sits on the
back of a pick-up truck in Bentiu, Unity state January 12, 2014. South
Sudanese government forces have acquired two jet fighters and truckloads
of small arms ammunition and are seeking to manufacture bullets, while
opposition troops have not received any significant arms shipments, UN
sanctions monitors have said. PHOTO | REUTERS
By Michelle Nichols
In Summary
- South Sudanese government forces have acquired two jet fighters and truckloads of small arms ammunition and were seeking to manufacture bullets, while opposition troops have not received any significant arms shipments, UN sanctions monitors said in a confidential report seen by Reuters on Thursday.
- Two truckloads of ammunition were transferred to the capital Juba from Uganda in June, while late last year South Sudanese army chief Paul Malong asked a Lebanese company to begin developing a small 'arms ammunition manufacturing facility in Juba, the monitors said.
- A political rivalry between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and opposition leader Riek Machar, a Nuer, sparked the civil war. The pair signed a shaky peace deal a year ago, but fighting has continued. Machar fled the country after the violence between their troops erupted in July.
South Sudanese government forces have acquired two jet
fighters and truckloads of small arms ammunition and were seeking to
manufacture bullets, while opposition troops have not received any
significant arms shipments, UN sanctions monitors said in a confidential
report seen by Reuters on Thursday.
They also said that armed government actors were imposing
"debilitating movement restrictions" on UN peacekeepers and warned that
the economy of the world's newest nation has effectively collapsed due
to government policies that include buying weapons instead of funding
social services.
The report, on arms flows and security threats to South Sudan
since a transitional government was formed in April, strengthens the
case for an arms embargo, a move recommended by the monitors to the
Security Council in January. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also
called for an arms embargo.
"There is no evidence to suggest that more weapons are required
in South Sudan for the government to achieve a stable security
environment," the UN monitors said.
"Rather, the continued influx of weapons ... contributes to spreading instability and the continuation of the conflict."
They said that while Sudan had provided small arms, bullets and
logistical support to opposition troops, they "found no evidence to date
that Sudan - or any other neighbouring country - has provided heavy
weapons ... which has limited the opposition's ability to mount
large-scale operations."
However, the monitors received reports that government troops
have made significant, ongoing arms procurements including the likely
recent acquisition of two L-39 fighter jets.
"While the panel has received preliminary reports from two
sources that the jets were serviced and painted in Uganda, the panel has
not yet been able to confirm their origin or if these jets have been
purchased or are on loan," the monitors said.
Two truckloads of ammunition were transferred to the capital
Juba from Uganda in June, while late last year South Sudanese army chief
Paul Malong asked a Lebanese company to begin developing a small 'arms
ammunition manufacturing facility in Juba, the monitors said.
"It is not clear from currently available information whether
this project has proceeded in the intervening period," they added.
Arms embargo
In the wake of deadly violence in Juba in July, the council said
it would discuss an arms embargo if Ban reports this month that the
government was not cooperating with the deployment of 4,000 more
peacekeepers and was obstructing 12,000 UN troops already on the ground.
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