The number of active-duty troops the Pentagon is sending to the US border with Mexico will swell beyond the figure of more than 5,000 announced this week, a top general said Tuesday.

US authorities on Monday said more than 5,200 troops would head south to bolster border security, in a bid to prevent a caravan of Central American migrants from illegally crossing.

General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, head of the US military's Northern Command, told Pentagon reporters Tuesday that the precise number is currently 5,239 troops -- and that the figure would grow.

"What I can confirm is there will be additional force over and above the 5,239. The magnitude of that difference, I don't have an answer for it now," he said.

President Donald Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly said more troops are needed to tighten border security, and he has made political capital of the caravan ahead of crucial midterm congressional elections that could see the Democrats regain some degree of power.

In April, Trump ordered up to 4,000 National Guardsmen to head to the border as a different migrant caravan wound its way north. About 2,100 have deployed.

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Pentagon to send about 800 troops to US-Mexico border
Washington (AFP) Oct 26, 2018
The Pentagon is expected to deploy about 800 troops to the US-Mexico border, two US officials told AFP on Thursday, after President Donald Trump said the military would help tackle a "national emergency" and called on a caravan of migrants to turn around. The active-duty troops would augment the 2,000 or so National Guardsmen already deployed to support operations on the border, and could come from multiple military bases around the US. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was expected to sign orders ei ... read more