Gunfire erupted beside the camp for Japanese troops taking part in a U.N. peacekeeping operation in South Sudan in July, a spokesman for the African country's military said Friday, a development that could fuel debate in Japan about the safety of such missions.
Tokyo is considering expanding the role of the Ground Self-Defense Force in conflict-mired South Sudan under controversial new security legislation that allows troops to be assigned to new, and possibly riskier, missions.
Giving Kyodo News a tour of the building in the capital, Juba, spokesman Lul Ruai said that on July 10 and 11, South Sudan government troops exchanged gunfire with about 20 rebel fighters in the building, which was under construction. Two government soldiers died.