President Obama deployed 47 troops to South Sudan on Tuesday, according to a notification he send to Congress on Wednesday.
Britain, Germany and Uganda are among the countries that have evacuated their diplomats as the four-year civil war that subsided amid a peace deal last summer led to more bloodshed in the recently established country’s capital of Juba.
The State Department is also evacuating some staff.
“In response to the deteriorating security situation in South Sudan, I have ordered the deployment of additional U.S. Armed Forces personnel to South Sudan to support the security of U.S. personnel and our Embassy in Juba,” Obama wrote in a letter to Congress mandated by the War Powers Resolution.
“Although equipped for combat, these additional personnel are deployed for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property,” Obama wrote.
Another 130 troops stand ready in neighboring Djibouti to assist if the situation worsens, Obama wrote.
The 47 “will remain in South Sudan until the security situation becomes such that their presence is no longer needed,” he wrote.
