South Sudan’s embattled government has agreed to allow an international protection force to be deployed in the country, after a United Nations mission failed to prevent violence.<br /><br /> Last month (July, 2016) clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar threatened to push South Sudan back into civil war.<br /><br /> Kiir had previously dismissed the notion of such a force, which was a key demand of his former second-in-command.<br /><br /> The decision was taken in Ethiopia, at a summit meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), a week after the president again removed Machar as first vice president.<br /><br /> No timeframe has been given for deploying the force.<br /><br /> The UN Mission in South Sudan estimated tens of thousands of people were displaced as a result of the clashes in July. 272 people were killed in the fighting.<br />
