The recommendation was arrived at an NSC meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House on Tuesday/FILE
The recommendation was arrived at an NSC meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House on Tuesday.
A statement from State House indicated that the recommendation for additional troops to the Kenya Battalion (Kenbatt 22) in South Sudan followed the UN Security Council Resolution of December 24 last year.
“The meeting expressed expectation that the parties to the conflict will participate in talks in Addis Ababa with seriousness and in full recognition of the cost of inertia and non-contribution to the civilian population and the humanitarian crisis,” a statement by State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu stated.
The council noted that additional deployment is necessary to increase the current strength to 1,000 troops due to the skirmishes in South Sudan amongst factions within the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
“It expected the monitoring and verification mechanism to actively carry out its mandate and begin reporting on violations so that humanitarian corridors can be opened,” the statement stated further.
The security meeting chaired by President Kenyatta also expressed concern over the continued and escalating military activities in the world’s youngest nation, in total disregard and violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement.
According to the African Union, talks between the South Sudanese government and rebels of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) are set to resume this week.
The AU expressed hopes that the talks, which will be held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, would pave the way for a broader dialogue between the two sides.
The first round of talks came to an end without any face-to-face meeting between the two sides in Addis Ababa on February 18.
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