South Sudan has threatened to stop all planes operated by the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) from taking to the skies following a dispute over security clearance.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei said late Sunday that UNMISS has failed to follow a government directive introduced last year that requires organizations to get flight clearance 72 hours before travel.
Makuei said that the UN mission over the weekend operated flights without notifying the government, as such they have suspended cooperation with UNMISS until the matter is solved.
”We established a one-stop shop for the coordination of all UNMISS flights. Now they decided to move against this establishment and after being prevented they went to the air and said the government of South Sudan is ‘obstructing us from our operations’. This is not acceptable. They either conform or we will stop them finally,” Makuei told Xinhua by phone.
Makuei added that the second point of disagreement also emanated from the recently deployed batch of the regional protection force who are currently said to be based at the UNMISS compound near the airport.
The 4,000-strong additional blue helmets were mandated by the Security Council last year to help protect civilians and key installations, including the airport following renewed violence in July 2016.
But Makuei argued that the government is capable of managing the airport and the UN troops must be relocated from their current base.
”They decided to ignore the established norms and the established procedures. This is not acceptable because South Sudan is not a no-man’s land. There is a man in South Sudan called South Sudan government, and this is sovereignty (that) must be respected,” he added.
Efforts to get a response from UNMISS were futile as the known phone number of the mission’s spokesperson was off by time of publication.
South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of civil war which has taken devastating toll on its people as tens of thousands have been killed and nearly 6 million displaced, according to the UN.
The UN said the war- torn East African country has become a hostile environment for aid workers to operate in amid increased killing and detention of humanitarian workers, denial of access and looting of relief supplies. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/Newsghana.com.gh[1]
References
- ^ Newsghana.com.gh (NewsGhana.com.gh)
Newer articles:
- Church offers age-old sanctuary to South Sudan's dispossessed - 23/08/2017 23:45
- Child killed in South Sudan when plane strikes house - 23/08/2017 12:12
- Foreigner returns to testify in South Sudan hotel rampage - 23/08/2017 08:59
- South Sudan runs out of fuel - 23/08/2017 04:35
- East Africa: South Sudan Looks Forward to Infrastructural Integration With Ethiopia - 22/08/2017 03:59
Older news items
- South Sudan grounds U.N. planes in airport row - 21/08/2017 09:10
- Red Cross warns unpaid wages deepening S.Sudan crisis - 21/08/2017 08:06
- Aid workers face unique crisis in South Sudan war, says ICRC - 21/08/2017 04:26
- Ethiopia hosts over 380,000 S.Sudanese refugees: UN - 20/08/2017 03:53
- Attacks on aid workers increasing in South Sudan, UN says - 19/08/2017 11:14
Latest news items (all categories):
- رسالة مفتوحة إلى مدام لميس الحديدى - 01/11/2024 17:50
- Policy actions to strengthen Public Finance Management in South Sudan - 01/11/2024 15:30
- WFP Calls for Cash to Frontload South Sudan Operations Amid Warnings of Rising Hunger - 01/11/2024 15:26
- DTM South Sudan: Biometric Registration and Cash Assistance - Raja Town (October 2024) - 01/11/2024 15:23
- Urgent Call for Government Regulation of Land in the Capital Juba and other areas in South Sudan to Prevent Community Hatred - 01/11/2024 14:52
Random articles (all categories):
- Official: Sudan planes drop 8 bombs on South Sudan - Austin American-Statesman - 24/04/2012 12:00
- Fabricating Excuses of SPLM for paving it Way to an Endless Ruling, Schisms and Corruptions - 19/02/2010 14:35
- Introducing Pesabase: Revolutionizing Money Transfers to South Sudan - 08/06/2024 16:32
- Uganda, South Sudan agree to end border insecurity - 15/03/2019 00:25
- Group hopes to give S. Sudan family a better life in the Okanagan - 11/09/2021 17:03
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 54807 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22158 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21277 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 18714 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 17478 times