UN chief wants 3,000 more troops for Central African Republic
Ban Ki-moon calls upon the international community for additional troop deployments and funds to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in central Africa
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appealed to the international community to send an additional 3,000 troops and police to Central African Republic to combat worsening sectarian violence until a proposed UN peacekeeping force is established.
He told the UN Security Council he would shortly report to the 15-member body with a recommendation for a UN peacekeeping force with a robust mandate to protect civilians and promote stability in the landlocked former French colony.
Ban, who has said he is gravely concerned the violence could spiral into genocide, warned that a “de facto partition” of the country was setting in. At least 2,000 people have been killed and some 700,000 have been displaced since December.
“The deployment of a peacekeeping operation, if authorised, will take months. The people of the Central African Republic do not have months to wait,” he said. “The international community must act decisively now.”
“The international community must act decisively now.”
Ban proposed that an international force of African, French and European troops be increased by a third within weeks to 12,000 soldiers and police. The force would bridge a gap of up to six months until a UN peacekeeping force – if approved by the Security Council – could be established in the country.