By Jok P Mayom
JUBA, 18 September 2016 [Gurtong]- Hon. Michael Makuei
Lueth, South Sudan Minister of Information and government spokesperson
last week Friday to the press after the cabinet ministers meeting that
was chaired by President Salva Kiir.
The Minister said the report came after the cabinet listened on the
security reports in the country presented by Deputy Defence Minister
General David Yau Yau.
“The government of South Sudan has completed its withdrawal of forces
from central line and we are currently out of buffer zone,” Hon Makuei
revealed to the press on Friday.
Makuei said that the two countries completed withdrawing their troops
from the demilitarized zone late August this year, despite the agreed
timeline of March 14.
In June, Juba and Khartoum signed series of security agreements
including redeployment of joint military forces along the safe
Demilitarized Border zone (SDBZ), and approved to stop supporting and
harbouring rebels as well as resumption of oil exportation.
“We will now continue with the programs of African Union High
Implementation Panel (AUHIP), and we shall send in our representative
with an observer status so that we continue to work together,” he said.
The government spokesperson revealed that Sudan has also replicated the
same and the two former foes are now moving towards normalizing their
relations collectively.
In October 2015, the two countries defence ministers co-chaired Joint
Political and Security Committee (JPSC) in Khartoum and discussed the
activation of the security arrangement agreed in 2012.
South Sudan seceded from the north on July 2011 after decades of civil
strife but border disputes and disagreements over oil pipeline fees have
dragged on, delaying much-needed economic development between the two
countries.
However, the former civil war foes have made a number of agreements
about border security in the past, but both have failed to implement
them.