04 February 2019•Update: 05 February 2019
WASHINGTON
Some 3,750 troops will be deployed to the U.S. border with Mexico, the Department of Defense said on Sunday.
The troops will be sent to place barbed wire at key points of entry along the border in response to large migrant caravans that had been marching their way up from Central America to reach the U.S.
The Pentagon said that the additional deployment is for 90 days.
The total number of active-duty forces deployed to the border to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will reach 4,350, Pentagon added.
Last week, the acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced that the U.S. could send "thousands" of troops to the southern border.
On Thursday, the U.S. defense officials said that over 3,000 troops will be deployed to the southern border with Mexico, adding that the additional forces will be joining the 2,300 troops already stationed there.
Earlier, the U.S. President Donald Trump also confirmed that additional troops were being sent to the border.
"More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!" Trump tweeted.
Reporting by Hakan Copur:Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev
