UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has recommended deploying 11,820 peacekeepers in strife-torn Central African Republic, including 10,000 soldiers and 1,820 police officers, to re-establish order.
In a report sent to the 15 members of the Security Council, Ban specified the peacekeeping mission should focus, in the initial stage, on “the protection of civilians.”
However, the mandate for the proposed operation would be progressively expanded to cover “support for the political process” of transition, in particular restoring the government’s authority over the country and organising elections, safeguarding the delivery of humanitarian aid, the respect of human rights and the return of those displaced by the violence.
“It is envisaged that the strength of the peacekeeping operation would comprise up to 10,000 troops and 1,820 police personnel,” and included logistical and transport support, such as helicopters, the report explained.
The deployment would be rolled out in stages.
An African Union-led force, MISCA, nearly 6,000-strong, is already engaged on the ground, as are 2,000 French soldiers from the Sangaris operation.
In Bangui, an early start to the rainy season in Central African Republic has worsened the plight of hundreds of thousands of people sheltering from religious violence in makeshift camps, raising the risk of malaria and dysentery, aid workers said yesterday.
Six months of heavy rains typically begin in early April but on Sunday a downpour struck the riverside capital, Bangui.
In the city’s largest camp, where 70,000 people are packed together beside the runway of M’poko International Airport, residents waded through up to 30 cms of muddy water.
Most of the displaced have makeshift shelters made from tarpaulins and palm leaves on the swampy soil.
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