CAR: French troops from the European peacekeeping mission are manned airport checkpoints as the force waits to be deployed in neighbourhoods around Bangui in a bid to stop months of sectarian slaughter

Record ID: 349946

  • Title: CAR: French troops from the European peacekeeping mission are manned airport checkpoints as the force waits to be deployed in neighbourhoods around Bangui in a bid to stop months of sectarian slaughter
  • Date: 1st May 2014
  • Summary: AIRPORT, BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (MAY 1, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS FRENCH EUROPEAN PEACEKEEPING FORCE (EUFOR) SOLDIERS MANNING AIRPORT CHECKPOINT WITH THEIR BLUE BADGE VISIBLE PAN ON MACHINE GUN /SANDBAGS/EUFOR SIGN AT CHECKPOINT SOLDIERS IN CHECKPOINT WITH MACHINE GUN AND EUFOR STICKER VISIBLE YOUNG BOY LOOKING AT CHECKPOINT FROM BEHIND WIRE PAN DOWN FROM HEAVY MAC
  • Embargoed: 16th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Central African Republic
  • Country: Central African Republic
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAABAR1S7041VYQ7AB9ETF305XY
  • Story Text: European Union peacekeepers (EUFOR) stood guard outside Bangui's main airport on Thursday (May 1), a day after they took charge of security from the Sangaris force.
    The French Sangaris troops handed control of Bangui airport over to the EU peacekeepers, who are also commanded by a French officer, Major-General Philippe Ponties.
    "Our mission is to secure the airport, everything that lands and takes off, and also avoid accidents for the population who is in the displaced people's camp south of the airport. Also to secure the entrance airport, the mission which up until April 30 was assured by the force Sangaris, and which was taken over yesterday by Eufor," said French Captain Alexandre.
    Only about 150 EU troops have arrived so far. But the strength of the force is expected to continue building until it reaches its target of 800-1,000 soldiers in June, the EU said.
    Just ahead of the handover, four people were killed overnight on Wednesday (April 30) in the capital, the local branch of the Red Cross said. One of the dead, a Muslim, was decapitated, his heart ripped out and his body mutilated.
    The EU peacekeepers are meant to share the burden of around 2,000 French troops and 5,000 African peacekeepers already in the country who have so far failed to stop the bloodshed.
    Fighting surged when mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power a year ago in the majority Christian nation, launching a wave of killings and rights abuses, said U.N. and aid officials.
    Mainly Christian groups formed what they called "anti-balaka" self-defence militias who have also been accused of atrocities that have continued even though the rebels stepped aside in January.
    Thousands of civilians have taken refuge in a sprawling settlement of cardboard shacks and tarpaulins beside the airport to escape the violence that rights groups have described as ethnic cleansing and warned may spread insecurity in a fragile region.
    Many others, including almost all of the city's Muslim population, have fled, U.N. and aid officials have said.
    But the real danger comes from the other side of the airport, from restive neighbourhoods like Combattants and PK5.
    The peacekeepers will also eventually move out to secure areas beyond the airport. Countries including France, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Spain have pledged soldiers or logistical help.
    "For the moment no date has been fixed for the deployment of the European forces in the different neighbourhoods of Bangui, but in time that's what's going to happen," captain Alexandre said.
    Central African Republic, impoverished despite its mineral wealth, borders some of the continent's most unstable countries including South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    The European Union formally launched its peacekeeping force in the former French colony at the beginning of April after weeks of delays caused by shortages of soldiers and equipment.
    Seleka leaders stepped down in January under international pressure but the peacekeepers and a weak interim government have failed to stamp their authority on the impoverished and landlocked country, which has been riven by political instability and conflict since independence from France in 1960.
    The United Nations has approved a 12,000-strong peacekeeping mission that will take over from the African force in the country from mid-September.
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