We were not surrounded by government troop-UNMISS Posted by admin <http://southsudantoday.net/default/author/admin/> On February 16, 2014 0 Comment<http://southsudantoday.net/default/2014/02/16/we-were-not-surrounded-by-government-troop-unmiss/#comments> *By Baker Lule*
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan has cleared the air, after saying that it was never attacked by government troops at their Tongping camp. UNMIIS said that what happened was a series of steps to strengthen security in relation to Protection of Civilians sites within the Mission's compounds. Security problems have continued to cause serious concern at the gates and in the vicinity of the UNMISS compounds. "The South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) therefore conducted an operation outside the compound in Tongping. The action took place next to the Western Gate at the entrance of the protection of civilians' site in the UN base. The operation was aimed at increasing security through searching for weapons, taking care of vehicles that could be a security threat and dismantling sale stands and liquor bars involved in illegal activity At no point did the South Sudan government troops surround the UNMISS compound, and neither was the SPLA involved in the operation." A statement from UNMISS' spokesperson, Ariane Quentier reads in part. The statement adds that the operation was led by the South Sudanese Police with the support of 50 UN Police Officers. Major General Said Sahul and Major General Pauline, supported by 130 South Sudanese police officers and in close coordination with the UN Police of UNMISS. The Mayor of Juba and the State Police Commissioner of Central Equatorial State were also involved. The Mayor of Juba had previously made public announcements through radio and TV to give the week-end (7 till 9 February) for civilians to be prepared for the operation that was to take place outside the UNMISS Western gate. "The Western Gate has now been cleared and private vehicles have been taken by SSNPS Traffic Police for further verification. A number of military uniforms, some ammunition as well as knives and machetes have been seized by SSNPS. No UN vehicles were parked outside the Western gate and none were seized by the SSNPS." Further operations are planned to address security related concerns. They will also be led by the SSNPS and coordinated with UN Police. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqBqTmTyFLoLbx%3DYyLGRJ1pVgtnFXBz_eq9eXLR4R9gpw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
