JUBA, South Sudan, Nov. 27 (UPI) — The government of South Sudan agreed to allow thousands more United Nations peacekeeping soldiers into the country without restriction to help end a violent outburst between rival factions in the young country.
The South Sudanese government, led by President Salva Kiir, had resisted further U.N. involvement as a violation of the nation’s sovereignty, despite bloody clashes that flared up again in July between rival groups.
The country descended into civil war in 2013, two years after it was granted independence from Sudan, when Kiir accused a former Cabinet deputy of plotting a coup. The conflict raged for two years and claimed more than 50,000 lives.
In response to the renewed violence over the summer, the U.N. Security Council authorized an additional 4,000 peacekeeping troops to be deployed to South Sudan with broader parameters than the 16,000-strong force already deployed there.
Kiir’s government had resisted the U.N.’s larger footprint, but relented Friday after lengthy Cabinet discussions.
Officials gave no timetable for the arrival of forces.
