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Britain plans to send 400 troops to South Sudan

Xinhua, December 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Britain plans to send 400 troops mainly comprising of medical and engineering personnel to boost the 12,000 strong UN peacekeeping force in war-torn South Sudan (UNMISS), a senior British official said on Thursday.

British Minister for the Middle East and Africa Tobias Ellwood told UN radio in the capital of Juba that his government will send the troops in March and also announced 100,000 British Pounds (81,300 U.S. dollars) in humanitarian support to South Sudan.

"We are just embarking on bringing 400 military personnel to join the UN mission here and I was pleased to learn details of that during this visit. But we are also wanting to encourage the national dialogue along with my colleagues," Ellwood said.

He added that "we are just finalizing the details but we look to see that it is happening in March these will be medical personnel, engineers working with the wide United Nations team."

Ellwood disclosed that Britain with other member countries of the Troika, are willing to support President Salva Kiir's recent call for national dialogue geared at healing and reconciling the warring parties in the country.

"I was here meeting the leadership to articulate that we want to see a peaceful transition, and welcoming the president's call for national dialogue which is a critical step forward in bringing stakeholders around the table," he said.

Ellwood revealed that no military solution would bring an end to the enormous violence and humanitarian suffering the country has endured in the more than three years of violent fighting.

"There can be no military solution to the current levels of violence that we are seeing and it is in everybody's interest to work together for the benefit of the country as a whole," he observed.

South Sudan has faced on-going challenges since a political face-off between President Kiir and rebel leader Machar erupted into full-blown conflict in December 2013.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than two million displaced since late 2013, according to the United Nations. Endit