UN extends mission to C.Africa by a year
The UN stabilisation force in the CAR, MINUSCA, has already begun scaling back numbers, having been deployed in 2014 during the country's bloody civil war.
UN extends mission to C.Africa by a year
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UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council has voted to extend by a year the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, set to expire this weekend, amid calls for a gradual withdrawal.
The UN stabilisation force in the CAR, MINUSCA, has already begun scaling back numbers, having been deployed in 2014 during the country's bloody civil war.
But the Security Council on Thursday voted unanimously to prolong the mandate while maintaining the perspective of a progressive transfer of its authority to the CAR authorities.
Security has since improved in what is one of the poorest countries in the world, but armed groups are still active, especially near the borders with Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Central African Republic has endured a succession of civil wars, coups and authoritarian regimes since its independence from France in 1960.
Resolution
Thursday's resolution, tabled by France, lowers the authorised military strength ceiling from nearly 14,000 to 12,000 –- a reduction of nearly 15 percent –- while maintaining a ceiling of 2,265 police officers.
Those figures reflect a desire to scale back operations but will not result in the withdrawal of peacekeepers, as current numbers are already below the ceiling.
The resolution recognises the "reconfiguration of MINUSCA’s presence to concentrate resources in high-risk areas, including in border areas," the UN said.
The country still regularly suffers attacks by rebel groups, who oppose the government, which is backed by the Wagner group and Rwandan forces.
In June, gunmen attacked the Sudanese border town of Am-Dafock, killing 29 people, including seven civilians and 22 members of the security forces.
Six UN peacekeepers were wounded and around 17,500 residents displaced.
Elsewhere, fighting this year between government forces, backed by Russia's Wagner paramilitaries, and the Azande Ani Kpi Gbe (AAKG) militia in the southeast has also forced people from their homes.
More than 416,000 people were internally displaced by insecurity as of August 31, according to a UN report published in October.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera called for a "gradual withdrawal" of the UN mission in an interview with Russian TV last month.
"We believe the Central African Republic must be able, in full sovereignty, to take charge of its own security and preserve peace in the country," he said.