south sudan

unmiss  march 2014
the united nations mission in s sudan apologized to the government of s sudan on the huge chunk of weapons seized in rambek which were destined for dr riek machar forces in unity state using unmiss transport vehicles.the weapons include anti-tank rocket launchers,anti-personnel mines,assorted armaments and ammunition.
the weapons were uncovered concealed in containers labeled "food items for the internally displaced people in unity state which was meant to be carrying food items for the idps in unity state who were displaced during the recent conflict between the government and the rebesl allied to dr riek machar.an sst reporter confirms that the manifest they had indicated "food items and building materials,"however the real content was weapons contrary to what was declared to the government who gave them clearance for food items only.
13 trucks belonging to unmiss which were carrying these weapons are currently detained in rumbek until investigations are carried out by the government and other relevant institutions an eyewitness revealed."iit is a policy of the unmiss that during a crisis all arms and ammunition for peacekeeping contingents are flown into areas of deployment and not taken by road.this is an important security measure,"miss hide said in a press release by unmiss.
according to the same press release,the srsg confirmed that the goods belong to unmiss contingent and they were not supposed to have weapons on board the trucks carrying food.
"in connection with the transport of cargo containing general goods belonging to the ghanian battalion on its way to dentiu,several containers were wrongly labeled and inadvertently contained weapons and ammunition.this is regrettable.the ghanian troops are part of the surge of unmiss troops to assist s sudan and the goods were en route to bentiu,passing through rumbek,"Miss hide said.
she added that un hq in ny intends to dispatch a high level investigation team in cooperation with the government of s sudan to look into this matter on an urgent basis.
according to public opinion,this is not the first tiem unmiss supplied dr riek with weapons.in the recent conflict at jonglei,unmiss supplied rebels with 20 apc's in akabo and bor which aided them to launch an advance on juba.they were later defeated by the spla and national security forces on juba bar road.sonya marie de mein,a unmiss employee supplied satellite phones and credit worth $500 to dr riek machar who is still in hiding.
among other support anti-government forces are garnering from unmiss include treatment of their wounded soldiers in un hospitals throughout s sudan,even his bodyguards who are being treated currently at juba.
according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity to sst "unmiss has also been smuggling dr reiks politicians and defected senior officers from unmiss compounds in juba and malakel where they are being hosted to the rebel-controlled areas."
most of the weapons discovered being ferried by unmiss are lethal,internationally banned and incompatible with the status of force agreement between un and the government of the republic of s sudan.
the views expressed in'opinion' articles published by the equatorial sun are solely those of the writer.the veracity of any claims made are the responsibility of the author,the equatorial sun.