A nationwide disarmament campaign targeting civilians has begun nationwide in South Sudan, a senior military official revealed on Thursday.
Major-General Lul Rurai Koang, spokesman South Sudanese defence force spokesman said the exercise is aimed at tackling the spate of inter-communal violence across the country.
The exercise is being carried out in regions where conflicts of a tribal nature have been witnessed in recent months, leaving tens of thousands internally displaced.
The army said the disarmament would help stem the tide of illegal arms and reduce violence in South Sudan, a country rocked by civil strife for decades.
Arms proliferation has been the norm in the world’s newest country thanks to a decades-old war of independence and the latest civil war which began in December 2013.
According to the UN mission in South Sudan, intercommunal violence remains the greatest threat to long term peace and stability in the country.
Days before the disarmament exercise began some seven people had died in skirmishes reportedly triggered by cattle rustlers in Jonglei State’s Pigi County in the east of the country.
WN/as/APA