US Dispatches Marines to Northeastern Africa
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Pawel Gaul/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — As the fighting between government and rebel forces in South Sudan escalates, the Pentagon has deployed 150 Marines to Camp Lemonnier in the Republic of Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa.
With U.S. aircraft coming under fire during evacuation efforts in the South Sudanese city of Bor last weekend, the Marines will probably help protect U.S. personnel and facilities against potential threats.
AFRICOM, the headquarters of U.S. Armed Forces in Africa, released a statement saying, “One of the lessons learned from the tragic events in Benghazi was that we needed to be better postured, in order to respond to developing or crisis situations, if needed. These precautionary movements will allow us to do just that.”
Several hundred U.S. nationals have been evacuated from South Sudan over the past week, with the State Department attempting to track down any remaining Americans.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is looking to send in peacekeepers in an effort to keep the conflict from becoming a civil war in South Sudan. President Salva Kiir has yet to meet with rebel leader Riek Machar, the former vice president fired last July.
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