Govt to consider UN protection force plan

South Sudan will consider a United Nations plan to send in troops and stop the country’s episode of violence, President Salva Kiir said on Monday, confirming a softer stance toward a U.N. vote to send in extra troops. The U.N. Security Council authorized an extra 4,000 troops on Friday, something Kiir’s spokesman immediately said the […]

South Sudan will consider a United Nations plan to send in troops and stop the country’s episode of violence, President Salva Kiir said on Monday, confirming a softer stance toward a U.N. vote to send in extra troops.
The U.N. Security Council authorized an extra 4,000 troops on Friday, something Kiir’s spokesman immediately said the government would oppose. On Sunday, however, the information minister said the proposal would be considered.
“There are people who are accusing the transitional government of refusing and fighting the U.N. … this is not accurate,” Kiir said at a ceremony to reopen parliament.
“The transitional government has not met to declare its final position. Deliberations will come later on a final position,” he said, without saying when the government might make a decision.
The U.N. decision was a reaction to days of fierce fighting in Juba, the country’s capital last month. The violence raised fears of a slide back into civil war in the world’s youngest nation, which gained independence in 2011.