UN force to deploy to Central African Republic
August 20, 2014, 4:14 am

France was one of the first countries to deploy 2,000 troops to the Central African Republic in a bid to end militia fighting there [AP]

The UN force is to relieve some of the African Union peacekeepers currently in CAR, and incorporate thousands under the UN banner.

But even as Babacar Gaye announced the deployment, he warned that “sectarian violence and the cycle of violent attacks and reprisals continue in many places in the country”.

A United Nations Security Council resolution in April approved the deployment of 11,800 peacekeepers and police to stabilise the Central African Republic, which has since November been embroiled in ethnic conflict and lawlessness.

Named MINUSCA, the force of 10,000 soldiers and 1,800 police members will replace the nearly 2,000 French troops and over 3,000 African troops currently there.

But the UN resolution also demanded “that all militias and armed groups put aside their arms, cease all forms of violence and destabilising activities immediately and release children from their ranks.”

Human rights groups operating in CAR have warned for nearly a year that sectarian conflict is on the increase in the eastern part of the country.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other groups have warned since late last year when Christian militias began battling Muslim armed groups that the humanitarian situation had become dire.

In March, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said 99 per cent of the capital Bangui’s once 100,000 Muslims had fled the violence which began when the government fell in December.

Her report was backed by UN High Commissioner for Refugees who said that ethnic cleansing may have occurred in other parts of the country.

In June, the UN reported an exodus of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) after a church in the capital Bangui where they had sought sanctuary came under attack. Dozens were killed and at least 27 civilians were abducted.

A priest was also killed in the attack.

Some 9,000 IDPs who had fled fighting in other parts of the country had sought refuge in the church, some having arrived more than 18 months ago.

UNHCR spokesperson Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba said that 32 of the 43 official IDP sites are religious institutions.

“Churches, monasteries and mosques have till now been safe havens for internally displaced persons across the CAR,” she said.

The UN has said that there are more than 750,000 who fled their homes in recent months, with over 350,000 having fled to neighbouring countries.

The making of a crisis

The current crisis in CAR – a mineral rich nation of 4.6 million people – began in December 2012 when Seleka – a rebel amalgamation of several different factions – began to move toward Bangui in hopes of removing Bozize, a military officer who seized power in 2003 and has been elected president twice since then.

Analysts say that the rebel gains underscore the instability and extreme poverty that has plagued the country since independence from Paris in 1960 despite possessing vast agricultural, water and mineral resources, including uranium, gold and diamonds. The average monthly income is around $60.

In January 2013, a ceasefire was reached and an UN-sponsored peace process led to the formation of a unity government in which the president was allowed to remain in office till 2016, provided top ministerial positions went to members of the Seleka Coalition.

However, on March 23, 2013 the Coalition broke the national unity agreement and seized the capital Bangui. In the fighting, 13 South African peace-keeping soldiers were killed and 27 others wounded during a clash with the rebels. South Africa withdrew its forces.

In December 2013, CAR President Michel Djotodia – a Muslim brought to power by the Seleka Coalition, called on the militia to exercise restraint and lay down their arms after nearly 1,000 people were reported killed in fighting with newly formed Christian militias.

His attempts to calm the situation failed and in January 2014 he fled to nearby Benin.

Source: Agencies