Four U.S. Soldiers Wounded Trying to Evacuate Americans from South Sudan

Four U.S. soldiers were wounded on December 21 while trying to evacuate Americans from Bor, South Sudan.

According to the Associated Press, the soldiers were wounded when their U.S. military aircraft came under attack. The aircraft took “heavy fire” as it approached to land in Bor and was “diverted” to Kampala, Uganda. The mission was aborted, and the wounded soldiers were taken to Nairobi, Kenya for medical attention. One of the soldiers is “reported to be in critical condition.”

South Sudan’s military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, said the troops that attacked the plane were renegade forces, not government troops.

Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the renegade forces began attacking civilians in earnest on the 21st. He said, “South Sudanese ground troops, backed by the country’s air force, are fighting rebels in Bor” in an attempt to wrest control of the city from them. 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.