France will boost its troop presence in the Central African Republic by the end of the year end under a forthcoming UN resolution to help prevent the country from spiralling out of control, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said yesterday.
Fabius and the European Union aid chief, Kristalina Georgieva, are in the country to drum up support and international interest for a largely forgotten crisis.
The Central African Republic has descended into chaos since mostly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March, the latest coup in the country that remains one of the world’s poorest despite resources ranging from gold to uranium.
Geographically at the centre of what some strategists have called an “arc of insecurity” involving Islamist fighters from Kenya and Somalia in east Africa to Mauritania in the west, a power vacuum could pave the way for militants to seize control.
France has urged world and regional powers not to ignore the conflict that has already seen more than 400,000 people driven from their homes by acts of violence such as murder and rape.
However, Paris is reluctant to be left to deal with another African hotspot after it felt allies such as the US were hesitant to help it halt a rebel advance by al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Mali earlier this year.
The African Union has deployed about 2,500 troops. But its resources are limited, prompting Paris to seek a UN Security Council mandate that would turn the operation into a UN peacekeeping force ultimately supported by French troops.
“We will increase our support, especially in the logistics domain, after United Nations resolutions (are approved). We will also increase troops, a little at first. This will be done before the end of the year,” Fabius said.
Fabius said the resolution was expected around December.
France currently has about 400 troops in Bangui, protecting the airport and French interests. Fabius did not say how many troops will be added, but sources have told Reuters the numbers could be increased to about 700-750.
Fabius said the dissolution of Seleka, a grouping of five northern rebel movements, must be real.
Country could disintegrate if nothing done
“We cannot have armed bands roaming the country,” Fabius told a news conference in the riverside capital. “We will not let you down.”
The French minister and EU’s aid chief, who were greeted by crowds in Bangui, some holding banners urging France to not to abandon the former colony, met transitional leader Michel Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye.
Djotodia, who was formally sworn in as the transitional president in August, has an 18-month deadline, set by African heads of state, to organise elections. He has said he will not run in the election.
A senior Central African Republic military official said the country was counting on France because the regional peacekeeping force was not visible and the population was losing faith in them.