ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, on Monday urged South Sudan's disputing factions' fighters to prioritize serving the nation without allegiance to tribal factions.
The statement was made by the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Ismail Wais, after visiting the Gorom training site on the outskirts of the South Sudanese capital, Juba, where government and opposition armies will be trained to become future special forces, the Djibouti-based eight-member East African bloc said in a statement on Monday.
"You exist as a unified force for one simple reason - to protect the lives and properties of the people of South Sudan," the statement quoted Wais as saying while his meeting with South Sudan's future special forces, accompanied by other regional special envoys who also visited the Gorom training site.
"You are no more a tribal army. You are no more a political army. You are the army of the nation," the IGAD special envoy told the combined troops.
The Special Envoy further called on "friends of South Sudan to support with logistics and transport of much-needed material to the cantonment sites," as he also urged "all South Sudanese, including the business community to support these efforts."
