South Sudan demands Egypt military support to build strong national army

South Sudanese defence minister Kole Manyang Juuk released a statement Wednesday, calling for Egypt to reinforce its military support for the country and to discuss the widespread conflict and unstable political conditions.

This came following President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s meeting with South Sudan’s former vice president Riek Machar Tuesday, in which the both officials reviewed and discussed developments regarding the implementation of the peaceful settlement agreement, signed in August 2015. They also discussed bilateral relations between the countries.

Juuk began his statement by saying his country highly appreciates Egypt’s support during the current crisis. He praised the role of Egyptian armed forces and efforts within Egyptian military academies to qualify young students for military work. He said Egypt succeeded in becoming “a militarily advanced country”.

Based on this, Juuk demanded Egyptian military support saying,  “South Sudan looks forward to increasing military cooperation with Egypt to realise our desire to build national army and to arm and train it in a modern way, so as to secure the safety of its territory and its citizens.”

He thanked the Egyptian government for addressing the proposal on international sanctions and stressed the necessity of solving African problems without any western interference.

The Sudanese official then referred to the unstable security and political conditions in his country and especially to the deteriorating economic condition in the oil-producing Sudanese state. However, he confirmed that South Sudan will be able to solve its internal problems following the peace agreement.

Regarding the subsequent challenges of the peace agreement, he explained, “There are several difficulties in integrating and accommodating the opposition in the government as they were recruited by civilians during the recent conflict, not counting the high level of unemployment.”

The minister concluded his statement by discussing internal conflicts inside South Sudan and possibly solutions, as well as criticising Western intervention.

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