The 350-strong Japanese military contingent, which has been based in Juba for the past five years, has been mostly helping with infrastructure construction
Japan on Monday started withdrawing its troops from a U. N. mission in war-battered South Sudan, according to an official, a move coinciding with escalating violence in a conflict where killings have been described as genocide.
The 350-strong Japanese military contingent, which has been based in South Sudan’s capital Juba for the past five years, has been mostly helping with infrastructure construction.
“The first group is leaving today, ” Daniel Dickinson, spokesman for the U. N. peacekeeping mission called UNMISS, told Reuters moments before the troops were due to board their flight at Juba International Airport.
Dickinson said the Japanese contingent would leave in three batches and that the group that was due to leave Monday had 68 troops.
