More than1, 600 unified forces at the Panyier training site in Jonglei State are in dire need of life-saving drugs, a military officer said.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, the chief instructor at the military training camp, Brigadier General John Achiek said malaria cases are on the rise among the trainees amid lack of life-saving drugs.

He pointed out that the unified forces, which started arriving at the training site in January, also lack shelter as well as mosquito nets.

“We received a consignment of life-saving drugs on January 12. Now, the forces are without medicines. There are cases of malaria because they lack tents and mosquito nets,” Achiek explained.

The military officer urged the government to provide shelter and mosquito nets, saying the health situation could worsen as the rainy season approaches.

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.