Refugees walk inside the Protection of Civilians site 3 of the United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) in Juba, capital of South Sudan, Aug. 13, 2016.
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It announced its decision to return in a statement on Tuesday after the United Nations Security Council’s visit to the country to convince President Salva Kiir to agree to the deployment of an additional regional protection force.
The Security Council tried to address the government’s reservations about the deployment of African “forces” to South Sudan based on a Security Council resolution to end the internal conflicts in the country.
The announcement came after representatives of the United Nations Security Council who are now in Juba held talks with South Sudanese president Salva Kiir.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power on Sunday said details needed to be worked through but called that normal for a peacekeeping deployment. He also said that the transitional government will support the distribution of humanitarian aid in accordance with the agreement.
The council threatened to consider an arms embargo if U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported in mid-September that Kiir’s government was not cooperating on the protection force and was still obstructing peacekeepers already on the ground. The U.N. already has 12,000 peacekeepers in the country, and South Sudan has been wary of giving it more authority.
The consent was conditional, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters in Juba on Monday.
“If we don’t accept it, if we don’t agree with that, nobody will enter South Sudan”.
“Further, the United Nations Security Council agreed that the troops-contributing countries, UNMISS and the Transitional Government of National Unity will continue to work through the modalities of deployment; building upon the consultations of August 25 and September 1 respectively; and anticipating any further discussion that will follow”, he added. The council met President Salva Kiir on Sunday and emerged with a joint statement accepting the new United Nations -mandated force. The pair signed a peace deal a year ago but fighting has continued and Machar has now fled to neighbouring Sudan.
South Sudan, devastated by civil war, has said the force violates its sovereignty.
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East African regional bloc IGAD pushed for a protection force and has pledged to provide troops.
