Defence & Security News - United States

Four American troops were injured Saturday, December 21, 2013, when their aircraft came under fire over South Sudan, where they were attempting to evacuate American citizens. The mission was aborted. The military said three aircraft were attacked by small-arms fire from the ground as they were approaching the town of Bor. All three aircraft sustained damage in the attack, the military said in a statement Saturday.

United States use the CV-22 Osprey to evacuate American citizens from South Sudan.

“As the aircraft, three CV-22 Ospreys, were approaching the town [of Bor] they were fired on by small arms fire by unknown forces,” AFRICOM said in a statement. “All three aircraft sustained damage during the engagement.”

The aircraft landed in Entebbe, Uganda, where the wounded were transferred to a C-17 and flown to Nairobi, Kenya, for treatment, AFRICOM said. All four servicemembers were in stable condition, the statement said.

The U.S. forces were part of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Bor is the Jonglei state capital and the scene of intense fighting for the past week.

South Sudanese officials blamed the attack against the American aircraft on rebels. The U.S. military identified the ground fire as coming from "unknown forces."

The country has been racked by violence for a week after an attempted coup triggered fighting between rival ethnic groups. The violence has killed hundreds and has world leaders worried that a full-blown civil war could ignite in South Sudan.

On Wednesday, 45 U.S. military personnel deployed to South Sudan for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens, the same day that the U.S. Air Force evacuated 120 people from Juba, the capital of the country, as fighting among local factions escalated. The evacuees included U.S. and foreign diplomats as well as other American citizens. They were flown to Nairobi, Kenya.