France Changes CAR Envoy ahead of Military Action
France said Friday it had replaced its ambassador in the Central African Republic, as it prepares to send more troops to help restore order in the strife-torn country.
"We have proposed the naming of a new ambassador to the Central African authorities," foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal told journalists.
It was unclear why the former ambassador, Serge Mucetti, was being replaced after less than two years in the country.
But France is gearing up for a military operation in CAR and its troops began to arrive on Thursday, with soldiers and equipment airlifted into the capital Bangui.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday announced plans to deploy 1,000 soldiers to help halt mounting violence in the country, where religious clashes have raised international fears of sectarian massacres.
Paris on Monday presented the U.N. Security Council with a draft resolution aimed at reinforcing a regional African military mission in CAR, with the goal of turning it into a U.N. peacekeeping force.
French troops will be deploying in support of the about 2,500 African troops already on the ground.
The CAR, a deeply poor landlocked nation prone to coups, insurgencies, banditry and mutinies, plunged into chaos after a rebel coalition known as the Seleka (Alliance) ousted president Francois Bozize on March 24.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/107793 |