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The minister of information, who serves as government spokesperson, Michael Makuei, urged UNMISS peacekeepers to reduce patrols in Juba City to change the country’s perception by the world.
Makuei argued that scenes of UNMISS-armed men moving around the city with their guns cocked as if they are going into combat create a narrative that South Sudan is still largely at war, which is not the case.
“I am requesting that you reduce these patrols inside Juba so that people can relax and feel that there is nothing in Juba so that the international community can understand that there is nothing in Juba,” Makuei told the media on Thursday in an event where Radio Miraya’s suspension was lifted.
The minister called on the head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, who was present at the event, to talk to “his armed men about reducing the patrol around Juba City”.
He further alleged that UNMISS forces have even been escorting water tankers in Juba, an act he believed was creating more fear among the Juba residents.
“Your forces here in Juba move armed with their guns cocked in their landcruisers and accompany water tankers, sending a message to the world that there is absolute insecurity in Juba; this is very serious,” he told Haysom.
He added, “I lived in a place where I see UNMISS cars coming out daily while fully armed as if they are going for combat missions inside the town.”
He stated that peacekeepers may carry out such security patrols outside Juba as there is no insecurity in Juba.
Makuei said the continued act could even scare foreigners coming to the city, who may believe that there is insecurity in Juba City.
He said the security situation in Juba is normal, and he sees no need for UNMISS to continue conducting such frequent patrols.
However, the head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, did not react to the statement made by Makuei.
Via City Reviews’s
