UK troops to join UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan
Up to 400 UK troops will deploy to South Sudan as part of a UN peacekeeping mission.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced that up to 100 more service personnel would be sent to the country, following David Cameron's promise of 300 troops for the UN mission last year.
The additional deployment will help enable the provision of a field hospital to support the peacekeepers from the UK and other countries.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Mr Fallon said: "If you allow countries like this [South Sudan], that breeds violence, that breeds extremism - and again it triggers mass migration and potentially terrorism.
"[We're] getting more countries to get more involved with the United Nations, to do more peacekeeping in very difficult countries - where there is instability - to stop these countries collapsing."
Mr Fallon will announce the extra service personnel during a UN defence ministerial in London later today.
He added: "One of the points of the conference today is to ensure the UN sends more peacekeepers more rapidly, that they are more representative - more women for example involved in peacekeeping - and that they can reassure the civilian populations when they do arrive... to keep the peace."
The UK's work in the country has involved engineering projects and support to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) headquarters.
The first UK personnel arrived in South Sudan in June, and the main body deployment is expected in the country next year.
As well as the UNMISS deployment, around 40 troops are already supporting a UN mission in Somalia, which is tackling the extremist group al Shabaab.
The Ministry of Defence said the commitments equate to a doubling of support to UN operations.