African Nations Pledge Cash for C.Africa on the Brink
Violence in Central African Republic could tear the country apart and destabilize the region, officials warned on Saturday as African countries raised cash for a peacekeeping force in the strife-torn country.
The pledging conference comes after African leaders called for urgent solutions to the crisis in Central Africa, a landlocked, resource-rich but impoverished nation where weeks of sectarian violence have killed thousands.
"Clearly the collapse of law and order is a threat to the very existence of the Central African state, it has the potential to seriously impact on regional security and stability," said Smail Chergui, the top African Union (AU) peace and the security official, told the conference.
"The security situation is of utmost concern, with continued attacks against civilians that in turn heighten religious and inter-communal tensions," he said.
The deployment of the AU peacekeeping mission MISCA is crucial to prevent CAR from "sliding into total collapse," Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said as he pledged $500,000 for the troops.
The peacekeeping force must have "the full capacity to successfully conduct its operations and mandate, especially in light of the current escalation of violence," said South African President Jacob Zuma, who pledged $1 million.
The Central African Republic descended into chaos 10 months ago after rebels overthrew the government, sparking violence between the Christian majority and the Muslim minority that has uprooted a million people out of a population of 4.6 million.
Violence has escalated in recent days, with 30 dead in the capital amid reports that violence is spreading beyond the capital Bangui.
"We urgently appeal to all of you to provide MISCA with the support required," U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, said.
"We have a collective responsibility towards the people of the Central African Republic to respond rapidly and robustly and now to prevent further atrocities," he went on.
"We will be judged and measured by our efforts to protect the people of the Central African Republic. We must not let them down ... we must not fail to prevent another huge tragedy in Africa. And we must ensure that MISCA does not fail because we did not give it the support it needs at this critical time," Eliasson told donors.
There are currently 5,500 troops in MISCA, supporting a 1,600-strong French force battling to restore peace in the conflict-wracked country.
The European Union has committed 500 troops, in addition to 200 million euro ($150 million) in support for security and elections which are set to take in the next year. Part of this EU cash pledge will go towards funding the MISCA force.
The newly-elected president of CAR, Catherine Samba-Panza, has called for additional troops to be deployed in the country.
The violence has created a massive humanitarian crisis, and the U.N. World Food Program said in Geneva it urgently needed $95 million to provide food assistance to the population.
Source: Agence France Presse
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