United States Deploys Troops to Protect Embassy in South Sudan

— -- ABC News has confirmed the United States deployed 40 additional troops to protect the embassy in Juba, South Sudan on Tuesday amid the deteriorating security situation there. Clashes that erupted last week have so far killed nearly 300 people, including several dozen civilians, before a ceasefire took effect on Tuesday.

"We brought in a small contingent of U.S. military forces," U.S. Ambassador Molly Phee said in an interview with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. "They are here to protect the embassy and to help us provide support for those Americans who want to depart from South Sudan at this time."

The State Department announced this week the embassy is under an "ordered departure," meaning that all non-essential personnel have been ordered to leave the region. The additional forces will assist with those departures and provide additional security.

About 40 U.S. service members from U.S. Africa Command's Crisis Response Force deployed to Juba June 12, to "temporarily assist the U.S. Embassy in bolstering its security," a military spokesman told ABC News.

"The reason [the troops] are here is to provide me and my team with support so we can continue to help resolve the crisis and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan," Ambassador Phee added.

About 36,000 people have been displaced since the fighting began last week, according to the United Nations. While sporadic clashes have broken out in the country, this is the first time intense fighting has reached the capital, raising fears that larger-scale conflict could return to the troubled African country.