South Sudan, UN end dispute over air operations

JUBA, Aug. 23 — South Sudan and the UN peacekeeping mission
UNMISS have resolved a dispute over the control of the Juba airport and
operations of UN planes, officials said Tuesday.

Government spokesman Michael Makuei said the stalemate was solved on Monday
during a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in the country, UNMISS
and the government. “We all agree that we should continue to cooperate and
work together for the overall interest of the people and the government of
South Sudan. And we hope that from now onwards, we are opening a new page
that will pave the way for us to continue to cooperate and coordinate our
activities correctly,” Makuei said. “The cooperation and the clearance
order have been cancelled and the clearance is now open. If UNMISS want to
move or go anywhere, they should follow the right procedure,” he added.

The government over the weekend stopped all planes operated by UNMISS from
taking to the skies following a dispute over security clearance and mandate
of the newly deployed peacekeepers. The UN mission recently deployed the
newly arrived Regional Protection Force (RPF) at Juba airport to protect
the facility, but this angered the authorities, with the government arguing
that a status of forces agreement it signed with the UN mission doest not
permit blue helmets to take charge of the airport. The 4,000-strong
additional blue helmets were mandated by the Security Council last year to
back-up the existing 12,000 troops to protect civilians and key
installations, including the airport, following renewed violence in July
2016.

Army Spokesman Lul Ruai Koang confirmed to Xinhua by phone that the RPF
have pulled out of the airport and the parties have resumed normal
cooperation, including issuing of security clearances for UN flights.
“There was a violation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by UNMISS,
but that has been resolved and we are now cooperating with them (UN),” Lul
told Xinhua.South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of
civil war which has taken a devastating toll on its people as tens of
thousands have been killed and nearly 6 million displaced, according to the
UN. – XINHUA