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United States to deploy 45 military personnel South Sudan to protect US citizen and property 2112131.
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Defence & Security News - United States |
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| Saturday, December 21, 2013 05:46 AM | |||
| United States to deploy 45 military personnel in South Sudan to protect U.S. citizen and property. | |||
On
Thursday, December 19, 2013, U.S. President Obama sent a letter to Congress
informing them that 45 U.S. military personnel have been deployed to South
Sudan “for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property.”
The deployment took place Wednesday, 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. |
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 U.S. Army soldiers with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's East Africa Response Force (EARF) depart an U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Dec. 18, 2013. |
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Obama said the troops in South Sudan are “equipped for combat” but their primary mission is to guard the Embassy in Juba, the capital. “This force will remain in South Sudan until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed,” he said. “We’re going to keep them there until the situation is stable enough for them to depart,” DOD spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday. The personnel are
members of the East Africa Response Force — a joint team based
at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. The team is designated to quickly augment
security at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Africa when called upon by
the State Department in emergency situations. |
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