South Sudan's government has suspended training of the necessary unified forces with immediate effect in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, military officials said.

Thousands of registered government and opposition troops have been undergoing training in a number of military camps in the country.

The process of gathering government and opposition forces into training sites with a view to forming a unified army is a cornerstone of the 2018 peace agreement.

Lul Ruai Koang, the official spokesman of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that all training sessions had been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 "The training of the unified forces has been stopped because we need to observe social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic," Lul said.

The military spokesman revealed that the unified forces have been instructed to remain in their training camps across the country and avoid unnecessary movements.

“We are just applying the key preventive strategy to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, such as social distancing and frequent handing washing,” he explained.

For his part, Lam Paul Gabriel, deputy spokesman of the opposition SPLA-IO confirmed that the training process had been called off until further notice due to the coronavirus.

“The decision was taken by the Joint Transitional Security Committee (JTSC) because it the body responsible for training activities. The order was issued to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” he explained.

South Sudan has not registered any case of coronavirus. However, the country is stepping up its efforts to prevent the new coronavirus pandemic.

The government has suspended schools and closed all airports and land crossings over fears about the spread of coronavirus.