Uganda and South Sudan have reached an agreement that will see Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) re-enter South Sudan reports the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA).
The Ugandan army is to be deployed along the major roads that link the Ugandan capital Kampala and the South Sudan capital Juba.
“There is an active discussion between South Sudan and Uganda over the possibility of Uganda’s military re-intervention in our country. Kiir and Museveni started talking about bringing back UPDF to South Sudan last month [May],” an unnamed government official told SSNA
The report further says that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir have agreed to have the UPDF soldiers also deployed in areas that a threatening the South Sudanese government.
“President Kiir is only implementing what he wants not the peace. The big problem here is that Taban Deng Gai who is now the First Vice President has no power to change anything Kiir wants and it is a big problem,” the source added. The official described the FVP Gai as “a man with no real power.”
South Sudan’s armed opposition, the SPLM/A-IO, has intensified its operation against government troops in and around Equatoria region in the southern parts of the country, causing Uganda’s truck drivers to stop delivery of Ugandan goods to Juba, according to SSNA.
Uganda is South Sudan’s biggest trading partner, and the Ugandan traders recently called on Ugandan President to order occupation of main roads linking South Sudan with Uganda, claiming Kampala has rights to protect its business interests in the war-wracked South Sudan.
