South Sudanese lawmakers call for 'restrictions' on troop deployment

While most lawmakers in South Sudan have welcomed government’s decision to accept the deployment of a regional protection force, some lawmakers have called on conditions to be placed on such a commitmen.
The South Sudanese government had initially opposed the move to have troops deployed to the region but caved to international pressure after the United Nations Security Council met with President Salva Kiir during a rare visit to the turbulent east African country.
Reports last week indicated that South Sudan had agreed to the deployment of a 4 000 strong regional protection force after first rejecting the peacekeepers as a violation of its sovereignty.
The UN already had 12 000 troops in the country and South Sudan had been wary of giving it more authority.
However, Zacharaih Matur, a Member of Parliament (MP), shifted the government’s focus once again on Tuesday, when he proposed that the country should be given a say in choosing which troops should be deployed and the type of equipment weapons they would use. Matur also said it should be clear which countries the troops were from.