The United Nations last week unanimously approved a resolution to send an additional 900 peacekeepers to its mission in the Central African Republic (CAR). “The Council decided to increase the Mission’s troop limit by 900 military personnel, resulting in an authorized troop ceiling of 11,650 military personnel, including 480 military observers and military staff officers, 2,080 police personnel and 108 corrections officers,” the UN said in a statement.
The mission referred to as United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) will extend its mandate until November 15, 2018. The mandate was extended after the Security Council reiterated the dire humanitarian crisis caused by the deterioration of security in recent months.
The country has been wracked by violence since Muslim Seleka rebels ousted then-President Francois Bozize, a Christian, in 2013. Fierce fighting has continued between the Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka rebels, forcing nearly half the country’s population to depend on humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.
