UK to deploy 100 extra troops to South Sudan in UN peacekeeping role

South Sudan - Ben Curtis/AP/Press Association Images

Britain is to send an additional 100 troops to the United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced.

The Cabinet Minister said the announcement, which takes the deployment in the African nation to 400, is part of Britain’s efforts to tackle “instability” that leads to mass migration and terrorism.

Troops will provide and staff a field hospital to support other UN officials, among other duties.

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UK personnel first arrived in South Sudan in June. They have already carried out engineering work to strengthen infrastructure and provided advice to the UN mission in the country.

The additional troops will join the 12,000-strong UN force comprised from 50 nations.

Britain is currently deploying about 40 troops to the UN force in Somalia, who are combating jihadist militants of the al-Shabaab group.

Tens of thousands of people died in the South Sudanese civil war which began in December 2013.

An agreement was signed in August 2015 to end the fighting, but peace is said to be fragile.

Fallon said the deployment "underlines how we are stepping up our global commitments".

“Backed by a rising defence budget, it's part of our effort to tackle the instability that leads to mass migration and terrorism. It will help keep Britain safe while improving lives abroad," he said.

This morning around 80 ministers and representatives from governments and organisations across the globe will attend a UN peacekeeping conference in London.

Prior to the event, Fallon and US defence secretary Ash Carter have called on the UN and all its member states to “step up” in what is a “more complex and dangerous world”.

Writing in The Times, they said: "Peacekeepers also have a responsibility to prevent and respond to acts of sexual violence committed by parties to conflict. 

"To ensure these standards are met, our two nations are pressing for training on prevention of sexual violence in conflict to be an integral part of the UN's pre-deployment training."