04 UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic

04 UN PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

A Christian rebel group in the Central African Republic ambushed a U.N. convoy, sparking a firefight and kidnappings that left four peacekeepers dead, eight injured and one missing, the United Nations said Tuesday.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said eight fighters from the anti-Balaka rebel group were also killed in the battle Monday night. The U.N. peacekeeping mission said the remaining attackers fled into the bush.

The U.N. mission sent a helicopter and additional troops to secure the site near Bangassou, about 474 kilometers (295 miles) east of the capital, Bangui, and were continuing to search for the missing peacekeeper, Dujarric said. In the initial ambush and firefight, one Cambodian peacekeeper was killed and seven Moroccans and one Cambodian were injured, he said.

Three Cambodian soldiers and one Moroccan peacekeeper were also reported missing, according to U.N. and Cambodian officials. Dujarric said three of the missing peacekeepers were later found dead. He said he did not know their nationalities. The injured peacekeepers were evacuated by helicopter to the capital and are now receiving medical aid, he said, and the United Nations is coordinating with government officials "to ensure the perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement late Tuesday strongly condemning the attack and stressing "that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime." He urged Central African Republic authorities "to swiftly bring those responsible to justice." The country descended into sectarian conflict in 2013 when Muslim rebels overthrew the nation's Christian president.

The United Nations launched a peacekeeping mission there in 2014 and now has more than 12,000 troops deployed to protect civilians from violence between Christian and Muslim factions. Some 890,000 people have been displaced inside the country and into neighboring Cameroon, the U.N. says.

The latest fighting began in February and Human Rights Watch said last week that at least 45 people have been killed and 11,000 displaced in attacks by armed groups that have also targeted civilians.

One predominantly Peul faction of the mostly Muslim Seleka group has been fighting since late 2016 with another faction that has aligned itself with the Christian anti-Balaka group as they vie for control of the central part of the country, the rights group said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced news of the attack in video remarks published on his official Facebook page. He said the Cambodians were part of an engineering unit that was helping to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The ambush took place as the Cambodians were on the way back to their base with an escort of Moroccan soldiers.

Chhum Socheath, a spokesman for the Cambodian National Defense Ministry, said the slain peacekeeper was a captain and his body was being sent home. Cambodia has deployed 12 soldiers to the central African nation in recent months, he said.

Over the weekend, four international aid groups said they would temporarily withdraw their workers from parts of northern Central African Republic because of increasing attacks targeting them. The four — Solidarities International, Intersos, Danish Church Aid and Person in Need Relief Mission — said they were moving to Bangui.

At Brussels conference, Ban spotlights crisis in Central African Republic

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) with Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, during the fourth European Union-Africa summit, taking place in Brussels, Belgium. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

AT BRUSSELS CONFERENCE, BAN SPOTLIGHTS CRISIS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

2 April 2014 – Stating that the world failed to stop the Central African Republic’s slide “into a grave political, economic and humanitarian crisis,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged African and European leaders meeting in Brussels to act quickly to end the killing, protect civilians and prevent further inter-communal strife, including through the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force.

“We have not made the difference that we promised we would make – to prevent the preventable,” Mr. Ban told the High-Level Meeting of the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) on the crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR).

He noted that after a year of largely continuous violence, the situation in the country remains “highly volatile” with the people suffering “grave deplorable atrocities” and in desperate need of assistance.

Mr. Ban has been at the EU headquarters in Brussels since yesterday, holding a series of meetings with political leaders on a host of issues. At today’s CAR-focused talks, he said the people of the crisis-torn country need support in a number of critical areas and that the international community has a collective responsibility to respond.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed, and 2.2 million, about half the population of CAR, need humanitarian aid as a result of the conflict that began in December 2012, when mainly Muslim Séléka rebels launched attacks.

More than 650,000 people are still internally displaced, and over 290,000 have fled to neighbouring countries in search of refuge from the conflict, which has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones.

On the current security situation, Mr. Ban said that killings, targeted attacks and other atrocious human rights violations continue in a context of total impunity. Genocide was avoided in large measure because of the mass exodus of minorities to areas where they felt they were safe – with their own people.

Commending the AU-led peacekeepers (MISCA) and the French peacekeeping operation known as Sangaris for their efforts to restore peace and security, he warned: “They are under-resourced and overwhelmed. Reinforcements are needed right away.”

The next priority for the international community is to provide assistance to the CAR’s Transitional Government, which needs help in getting police, judges, prison guards and others back on the job.

The Head of State of the Transition, President Catherine Samba-Panza, is committed to restoring State authority, Mr. Ban noted. “But with no budget, her abilities are sharply constrained. Funding for humanitarian aid is also falling short of the amounts needed and of pledges made, with only 20 per cent of the resources received,” he added.

The final priority action area will be to ensure an inclusive political process. “Community and religious leaders have an important role to play. The people of the CAR must see that accountability applies to all – that the rule of law matters no matter who they are or what they believe, from leaders to individual combatants,” declared the UN chief.

While the international community had not made the difference that it had promised, “today, with even modest support, we have the opportunity to reverse course and help ensure that the people of the CAR can enjoy the fruits of their country’s natural riches and re-establish the coexistence that has been their proud history,” said Mr. Ban.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting following his talks with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the Secretary-General recalled the recommendations he presented last month to the UN Security Council to transform MISCA into a UN peacekeeping operation.

“But this will take time. Meanwhile, I have a plan to address immediate needs,” Mr. Ban told the press, pledging to do everything possible to improve the international response towards ending the violence. “We also need to get more aid through,” he pleaded, adding that there is hope for the people of CAR to stabilize, rebuild and develop their country, provided they receive the necessary help.

Answering a reporter’s question on the scope of the recommended UN peacekeeping force for CAR, the Secretary-General said: “I have recommended that at least, we need to have 10,000 military personnel, 1,800 police officers and 20 correctional officers. This is within 12,000 altogether. I hope the Security Council will approve my recommendation as soon as possible. My expectation is that the Security Council may take action early next week.”

Mr. Ban expressed appreciation to several European countries, such as Denmark and Finland, who have generously offered to provide additional financial support to help pay the salaries of CAR Government officials, as well as to the EU for its $30 million to help with institution building.

During their meeting, Mr. Barroso and Mr. Ban also reviewed developments in Mali, the broader Sahel, the Africa’s Great Lakes region, and discussed global challenges, such as climate change.

“I fully support the visionary commitment of the European Union to reduce by 40 per cent greenhouse gases by 2030. I hope the European Union will lead this campaign and agree on this vision at the forthcoming June summit meeting so that they can come with a very ambitious target to the climate change meeting that I am going to convene on September 23 this year,” the UN chief said, adding that the EU’s leadership is needed on this matter.

source: http://www.un.org/News/