Extra UN Peacekeepers Needed for CAR

By on October 19, 2017

The United Nations chief, Antonio Guterres is seeking another 900 peacekeeping soldiers that would join efforts to stabilize the Central African Republic and protect civilians in the country.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday he hoped the U.N. Security Council would agree to send extra forces to the war-stricken nation.

Guterres who is expected to  pay his first visit to the Central African Republic later this month, said the peacekeepers had “helped avert the worst” when mass atrocities were being committed in the country five years ago, but the situation remained “very troubling.”

The fighting in the central Africa nation is primarily between Muslim ex-Seleka rebels and majority Christian anti-Balaka fighters over resources and trade routes.

According to international human rights organizations, about 70 percent of the country is in rebel hands including the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army.

Several NGOs have been forced to retreat from the conflict-torn regions where many vulnerable people are in dire need for humanitarian assistance.

Overall, 2.4 million Central Africans are in need of aid. About 600,000 people have been driven from their homes within the country and an additional 500,000 have crossed borders as refugees.

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) and French forces have increasingly come under threat.

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