Uganda To Withdraw South Sudan Troops

Uganda will withdraw its troops from South Sudan when a regional East African force is ready, the Ugandan defense minister said on Saturday.



"We deployed a force to South Sudan whose government invited us to do so and we prevented genocide," Crispus Kiyonga told Anadolu Agency after a meeting between Ethiopian and Ugandan ministers in Addis Ababa.



"We will withdraw from South Sudan as soon as the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) Deterrent Force deploys. If invited we will be part of the IGAD force."



Addressing the meeting, Kiyonga said: "I hope that very soon this East African Stand-by Force will be ready for deployment."



South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has been wrecked by fighting that has killed thousands and forced more than 800,000 to flee their homes since December 2013. - Addis Ababa