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What the hell good are they? Why do we continue to support that worthless bunch?
Story @ UN peacekeepers ‘abandoned posts’ as S. Sudan rebels raped aid workers
F-16s based out of Aviano Air Base in Italy and KC-135’s out of RAF Mildenhall, along with airmen in support, were deployed to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, U.S. Africa Command said. The move was a "precautionary measure in order to protect Americans and American interests in South Sudan if required," AFRICOM said in a statement. The deployment came at the request of the State Department and embassy in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, where violent unrest posed a risk to U.S. personnel and facilities, AFRICOM said. "These assets have remained in Djibouti out of an abundance of caution in response to that situation in South Sudan," AFRICOM said. In July, AFRICOM dispatched about 50 combat-equipped troops at the order of President Barack Obama to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel amid widespread violence and civil unrest in South Sudan.
A 555th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon taxis across the runway while a 510th Fighter Squadron F-16 lands at Aviano Air Base, Italy
The deployment was defensive in nature, officials said at the time. On July 7, a group of U.S. diplomatic personnel were fired upon by government troops, U.S. officials have said. "I can say that we do not believe our vehicles and personnel were specifically targeted in the attack," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon in September. "It’s our assessment that the attack was connected to the breakdown of command and control among South Sudanese government forces, and we have demanded that the government of South Sudan investigate this incident and punish and hold accountable those responsible for it."
For AFRICOM, unrest in South Sudan, a country that gained independence in 2011, has been a source of recent concern. Sudan had been roiled by violence for decades, including the most recent civil war, which stretched from 1983 to 2005. After South Sudan gained independence, tensions continued with its neighbor to the north, but armed militia groups and tribal conflict within its own borders also posed a security risk.
US F-16s in Djibouti for Possible Crisis Response in South Sudan | Military.com
Adama Dieng warned Friday of a "strong risk of violence escalating along ethnic lines with the potential for genocide," speaking at a press conference in Juba after visiting South Sudan for five days. Dieng said South Sudan is awash with weapons, has an undisciplined military, and is in a humanitarian and economic crisis in which civilians are desperate for employment. "Genocide is a process," said Dieng, adding that all the elements are present for a disaster. The accusation that South Sudan is at risk of genocide is "very unfortunate," Minister of Information Michael Makuei told The Associated Press. "I don't agree with him. It is a negative report and it won't be of any help. Here in South Sudan what is happening has nothing to do with genocide," he said.
South Sudan is the world's newest country and there were high hopes that it would have peace and stability after its split from neighboring Sudan in 2011. But the country plunged into ethnic violence in 2013 when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to his former vice president Riek Machar, a Nuer. A peace deal signed in August has not stopped the fighting. Kiir said in a recent speech that the army was mostly comprised of his Dinka tribe because other ethnic groups are part of the rebels. To stop South Sudan's slide into ethnically based violence, Dieng proposed a strategy of reconciliation and dialogue to build trust in the East African nation. But even as Dieng, the U.N. expert on genocide, spoke, a radio station was shut down by South Sudan's National Security Service.
Eye Radio is one of South Sudan's largest national radio stations and known for its reggae music and messages of unity and peace. It is funded in part by the U.S. Agency for International Development. On Friday three officials from the country's security service seized the keys to Eye Radio's studios, told journalists to leave, and ordered the head of the station to report to security officials, said Nichola Mandil, a senior journalist for the station. A spokesman for the security service declined to give an explanation for the shutdown. When informed that Eye Radio had been shut by the government, Dieng's voice rose with ire and he recalled how radio had been a tool for spreading hatred during the Rwandan genocide.
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