Americans Escape Violence in South Sudan, UN Considers Action - East Idaho News
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Americans Escape Violence in South Sudan, UN Considers Action

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Getty 122313 SouthSudanFlag?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1387837904078STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images(BOR, South Sudan) — With violence in South Sudan spreading and Americans being evacuated over the weekend, the United Nations is considering action to help bring an end to the conflict between rival military factions of the world’s newest country.

On Monday, a U.S. State Department official confirmed that 15 Americans were evacuated from Bor on Sunday aboard U.N. helicopters. The U.S. initially attempted an evacuation on Saturday, but three American military aircraft came under small arms fire and the mission was aborted. It was not immediately clear how many Americans remain in Bor, or whether there were still Americans who had requested help in getting out of the area.

The U.S. envoy for South Sudan, Donald Booth, was in the capital city of Juba pushing for a ceasefire this weekend. He returned to Nairobi, Kenya on Monday, saying that South Sudanese President Salva Kiir is willing to talk peace “as soon as his counterpart is willing.”

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday evening to discuss the situation in South Sudan. The international organization says that tens of thousands of people may have been displaced by fighting. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has requested that the Security Council send additional troops and assets to South Sudan from other African posts.

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