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France to boost Central Africa force with UN backing | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) peacekeepers from Republic of Congo form a line during morning instructions at the FOMAC camp in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, November 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Joe Penney)


Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) peacekeepers from Republic of Congo form a line during morning instructions at the FOMAC camp in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, November 25, 2013.    (REUTERS/Joe Penney)

Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) peacekeepers from the Republic of Congo form a line during morning instructions at the FOMAC camp in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, on November 25, 2013. (REUTERS/Joe Penney)

Paris, Reuters—France will increase its force in Central African Republic (CAR) to at least 1,000 soldiers after a UN resolution expected next week, French officials said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of regional instability.

The landlocked nation of 4.6 million people has descended into violence and chaos since rebels, many from neighboring Chad and Sudan, ousted President François Bozizé in March.

CAR’s prime minister, Nicolas Tiangaye, said on Monday that French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had told him France aimed to boost its number of soldiers in the country by 800 from about 400.

“We are going to reinforce our presence,” Fabius told France Culture radio. “We are waiting for a United Nations resolution that should come next week.”

“Until now, only Central Africans were threatened, but if the (power) vacuum and implosion sets in, it will threaten all countries in the region: Chad, Sudan, Congo and Cameroon.”

Asked about the figure of 800 additional troops, Fabius said the number “makes sense”, but did not elaborate further.

Separately, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Europe 1 Radio that France would support a planned African-led force with “around 1,000” troops. He did not specify whether that was the size of the reinforcement or the total number.

He said the mission was likely to last about six months depending on the timetable set by the United Nations. He dismissed comparisons with France’s intervention in Mali, where Paris deployed 4,000 troops in January to keep Islamist militants from taking the capital Bamako.

French UN Ambassador Gérard Araud said at the United Nations that the French troops in CAR would restore law and order until an African Union force of 3,600 troops—known as MISCA—was fully operational.

In addition to the French troops in the country, there is a 2,500-strong regional force deployed by the Economic Community of Central African States. The African Union is due to take charge of that force in December and boost its size.

The violence in the mineral-rich but impoverished country has increasingly pitted the mainly Muslim fighters of the Seleka rebels against Christian militias. Christians make up half the population and Muslims 15 percent.