The United States representative at the UN Security Council said they have called for regional countries to begin preparing troops for possible deployment into South Sudan.

Ambassador Samantha Power said the Council expressed its readiness to enhance the UN Mission in South Sudan's role in responding to the crisis.

UNMISS is mandated to protect civilians and currently has about 12,000 soldiers and a yearly budget of 1 billion US dollars. But the mission has struggled to protect civilians and exert itself.

UNMISS officials have at times complained of not having enough resources, while critics say UNMISS do not do enough with the troops they have at hand.

A UNMISS peacekeeper was killed and others injured during clashes last night.

Meanwhile, the US government announced it was withdrawing all non-essential staff from its embassy in South Sudan.