The South Sudanese government led by President Salva Kiir has accepted the deployment of 4,000 more UN peacekeeping troops after first rejecting the regional protection force saying it is a breach of its national sovereignty.

UN Security Council has secured consent from South Sudan’s government for the deployment of additional forces following an announcement made by Kiir after he met with ambassadors from the UN Security Council’s 15 member states in a meeting held in the capital, Juba.

“The transitional government of national unity gives its consent for the deployment of the regional force,” the government and the security council said in a joint statement, which was read out by Martin Elia Lomoro, the South Sudanese cabinet affairs minister.