South Sudanese President Salva Kiir yesterday assured that he is not opposed to deployment of additional United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in the country. He, however, called for further discussion on the subject.

“We must engage in dialogue and exchange ideas on how best to move forward instead of being presented with a fait accompli by outsiders,” Kiir said in parliament in Juba, the country’s capital.

“We are not opposed to any help and we gladly listen to advice. But assistance requires dialogue and should not be imposed on the risk of becoming an intervention that compromises our sovereignty and diminishes our capacity to govern effectively,” he added.

The South Sudanese president seems to have softened his stance on the dispatch of a regional force to reinforce the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), consisting of 12,000 soldiers.

Ahead of the UN vote on Friday, Juba had rejected the draft resolution, believing in particular that it undermined its sovereignty.

The Security Council authorised the deployment of additional troops on Friday to south Sudan. The UN’s resolution also threatens to impose an arms’ embargo on the country, if Kiir’s government blocks the deployment.

The resolution was adopted after heaving fighting broke out early July in Juba between government forces and former rebels. The fighting that has also been dotted with rape incidences has left hundreds dead and more than 70,000 refugees.