Uganda to send troops to South Sudan

South Sudan has agreed to allow into the country Uganda’s military to help counter insurgencies that threaten to destabilize both nations’ economies.

According to South Sudan News Agency (SSNA), the deal states the Ugandan army is to be deployed along the major roads that link the Ugandan capital Kampala and the South Sudan capital Juba.

SSNA said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir agreed to have Uganda’s People’s Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers deployed in areas where threats to the government exist.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (R) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attend the opening ceremony of the National Dialogue committee in Juba, South Sudan May 22, 2017.

“There is an active discussion between South Sudan and Uganda over the possibility of Uganda’s military re-intervention in our country. Kiir and Museveni started talking about bringing back UPDF to South Sudan last month [May],” an unnamed government official told SSNA.

South Sudan’s armed opposition, the SPLM/A-IO, has intensified its operation against government troops in and around southern parts of the country where roads to Uganda run.

Uganda is South Sudan’s biggest trading partner.

(CGTN)