UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Security Council called for a rapid reinforcement “of at least 3,000 troops” to Central African Republic to re-establish order and protect civilians.
The country has erupted in recent weeks in Muslim-Christian violence, leaving hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands displaced in a surge of killings, mutilations and rapes that has sparked warnings of ethnic cleansing.
Ban proposed the additional troops be sent “in the coming days or weeks,” and urged they be equipped “with air mobility.”
“We need more,” he urged.
Ban also proposed that all international forces in Central African Republic be brought under “a coordinated command” with a mission priority of protecting civilians and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid.
He also suggested providing logistical and financial aid of USD 38 million over six months to the African Union mission in CAR and to provide financial assistance to the government so it could bring back some of its essential public services, such as police and courts.
He called on donor countries to show increased generosity toward CAR, noting that the UN has only so far raised 15 per cent of the USD 551 million it proposed in its appeal for 2014. (Agencies)
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