Community Security and Small Arms Control Bureau called on the government to urgently intervene and exert more efforts in controlling small arms circulation in the country.
Acting head of the Bureau Christo Simon Fataki said their Assessment conducted in Awerial of Lakes State, Nimule of Eastern Equatoria, Yei and some parts of Central Equatoria indicated that over 1.3 million people were displaced because of illegal small arms, Bakhita Radio reported.
He urged authorities to collect out small arms from civilians’ hands and restrict them to security personnel in order to realize development in the country.
National Deputy Interior Minister Augustino Jadalla Wani said thousands of rifles entered into South Sudan causing serious security problems in the nation.
He called for collective action to combat the threat of small arms, stressing the need to initiate development projects to shift youths’ attention from holding guns for survival.
UNDP Democratic Governance and Stabilization Unit team leader Lealem Berhanu urged the government and development partners to implement Bureau’s recommendations.
He said UNDP would support and work closely with the Bureau to enable partners conduct more assessments.
The speakers made their remarks on Tuesday during a one-day dissemination workshop to enlighten the government and development partners on the impact of community security assessment.