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Africa Horn
South Sudan President Retires over 100 Army Generals
2013-02-19
[An Nahar] South Sudan has retired over 100 generals as part of a sweeping restructuring of the former rebel force, in a move partly aimed at demilitarizing the fledgling nation's government, officials said Monday.

The presidential decree to retire 117 generals follows similar orders last month for 35 other generals and all six deputy army chiefs of staff.

"They all finished their time in the military service so they are retired but are paid...There must be new blood to come up for a change, because we are a new nation at last," army front man Kella Kueth told Agence La Belle France Presse.

South Sudan won independence from former civil war foe Sudan in July 2011, facing a raft of challenges to rebuild the conflict-ravaged nation, including turning a bloated guerrilla army of some 200,000 troops into a regular force.

The army absorbed several former rival rebel factions -- some once acting as proxy forces for Sudan -- as part of peace building efforts, swallowing up large chunks of the impoverished nation's budget.

Several of the generals now hold government positions, too.

"It is a way of separating the military and civilians, which the army has not been very good at for years. So it's a positive change", said one Western diplomat on condition of anonymity.

But with rebel militia forces still operating and a pension system not yet implemented, stripping army commanders of both title and salary would be a dangerous move.

"This is about cleaning up the administration and professionalizing the army, but it is a delicate process and has to be done slowly," Matthew LeRiche, an academic and expert on the former South Sudanese rebel force said.
Posted by:Fred

#4  When Harry Flashman served in the army of Queen Ranavalona the First of Madagascar she appointed him Sergeant-General, and to his knowledge he was the only person to have ever held that rank.
Posted by: Grunter   2013-02-19 23:33  

#3  US Generals according to Wiki:

The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 230 for the Army, 208 for the Air Force, 60 for the Marine Corps.

General inflation has hit South Sudan, it appears....
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2013-02-19 17:12  

#2  None. They had all been promoted to 'general'...
Posted by: Steve White   2013-02-19 09:52  

#1  Now here, I wouldn't have though South Sudan had over a 100 army generals.
I wonder how many sergeants they have...
Posted by: ed in texas   2013-02-19 06:52  

00:00