South Sudan Says It Will Resist Neighbors’ Plan to Send Troops

South Sudan will resist plans by neighboring countries to deploy a regional force in the wake of renewed violence in the oil-producing nation, according to the country’s defense minister.

The warning comes after East African leaders agreed last weekend to send troops to South Sudan to boost the United Nations mission and protect civilians. The deployment of regional troops will be a violation of the war-torn nation’s sovereignty and the decision was made without proper knowledge of the security situation, Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk said by phone on Wednesday.

“If that occupation actually happens, it will need resistance,” Juuk said. “We will see relationships destroyed and above all, when this is done in South Sudan, it is bound to be done in other countries.”


A power-sharing deal between President Salva Kiir and former rebel leader Riek Machar to end more than two years of civil war has broken down, as fighting in the capital, Juba, left at least 270 people dead earlier this month and led to Machar’s troops fleeing the capital.v