by Julius Gale
JUBA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan and the UN peacekeeping mission UNMISS have resolved a dispute over the control of the Juba airport and operations of UN planes, officials said Tuesday.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei said the stalemate was solved on Monday during a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in the country, UNMISS and the government.
"We all agree that we should continue to cooperate and work together for the overall interest of the people and the government of South Sudan. And we hope that from now onwards, we are opening a new page that will pave the way for us to continue to cooperate and coordinate our activities correctly," Makuei said.
"The cooperation and the clearance order have been cancelled and the clearance is now open. If UNMISS want to move or go anywhere, they should follow the right procedure," he added.
The government over the weekend stopped all planes operated by UNMISS from taking to the skies following a dispute over security clearance and mandate of the newly deployed peacekeepers.
The UN mission recently deployed the newly arrived Regional Protection Force (RPF) at Juba airport to protect the facility, but this angered the authorities, with the government arguing that a status of forces agreement it signed with the UN mission doest not permit blue helmets to take charge of the airport.
The 4,000-strong additional blue helmets were mandated by the Security Council last year to back-up the existing 12,000 troops to protect civilians and key installations, including the airport, following renewed violence in July 2016.
Army Spokesman Lul Ruai Koang confirmed to Xinhua by phone that the RPF have pulled out of the airport and the parties have resumed normal cooperation, including issuing of security clearances for UN flights.
"There was a violation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by UNMISS, but that has been resolved and we are now cooperating with them (UN)," Lul told Xinhua.
South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of civil war which has taken a devastating toll on its people as tens of thousands have been killed and nearly 6 million displaced, according to the UN.
