The U.S. military in Africa says it has sent 40 additional soldiers to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to help secure American personnel and facilities in the war-torn city.
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He said the decision was to avoid further violence with forces loyal to President Salva Kiir after the declaration of ceasefire on Monday evening.
Officials have also said Machar’s spokesman circulated a false report on the 8 that said Machar was about to be arrested, prompting hundreds of opposition soldiers to race to the presidential compound.
Swaraj said the evacuation scheme is fully ready and if the situation worsens then the government will not delay and immediately evacuate Indians from there.
He said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, was also investigating the incidents, including its own response.
William Spindler, spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency, said the number of refugees in neighbouring countries was now 835,000.
Encontre said that although children constitute 70 percent of the refugee population, child protection activities including in the education sector are severely compromised.
Adding that in case the situation deteriorates the Indian nationals will not be evacuated, she reiterated her call to move out as quickly as possible, adding that two aircrafts are waiting to carry them out.
But South Sudanese trying to flee the country by road have reported being turned back from the border.
She said India’s Ambassador in South Sudan Srikumar Menon and his team were organising this operation on the ground.
Encontre reiterated UNHCR’s call on all armed parties to ensure safe passage for people fleeing fighting to seek safety and asylum.
President Obama has ordered 47 USA troops to South Sudan to help protect the American embassy there after an outbreak of violence in the newly formed nation.
Meanwhile, fighting continued to spread to other parts of South Sudan.
“The reports include allegations of the killing of at least one South Sudanese national working for an worldwide NGO, as well as rapes, including of global NGO staff”.
“We are responding and that response will continue to grow, but it is vital that we are able to reach everyone in need and for that we must have unrestricted humanitarian access”, said Mdoe.
This is not an article on South Sudan, which is just as well because the conflicts there are nearly fractal in their complexity.
Machar’s sacking as vice-president in 2013 set off a cycle of retaliatory killings that split the poverty-stricken, landlocked country along ethnic lines and drove more than two million out of their homes.
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The conflict has been characterised by horrific rights abuses, including gang rapes, the wholesale burning of villages and cannibalism.
