{"id":27276,"date":"2021-07-08T16:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/08\/marines-deploy-to-southern-african-nation-amid-pro-democracy-protests\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:01:06","slug":"marines-deploy-to-southern-african-nation-amid-pro-democracy-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2021\/07\/08\/marines-deploy-to-southern-african-nation-amid-pro-democracy-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Marines deploy to southern African nation amid pro-democracy protests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A team of 13 Marines with the Marine security guard<\/a> Security Augmentation Unit have been sent to the U.S. embassy in the small southern African nation of Eswatini to beef up security as pro-democracy protests in the nation turn violent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Locals in the nation, known as Swaziland until 2018, started protesting in late June after King Mswati III banned petitions calling for democratic reform, Human Rights Watch reported.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the protests started to grow government security forces cracked down<\/a> on the pro-democracy demonstrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government of Eswatini has launched a full-frontal assault on human rights in response to ongoing pro-democracy protests,\u201d Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International\u2019s Director for East and Southern Africa, said on July 2.<\/a> \u201cDozens of people have been killed for daring to demand that their government respects human rights, many of them human rights defenders and activists.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\t