This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/central-african-republic-fighting.html

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Security Council Votes to Strengthen Force for Central African Republic As Central African Republic Convulses, Security Council Votes to Strengthen Force There
(about 1 hour later)
DAKAR, Senegal — Fighting tore through parts of the capital of the Central African Republic on Thursday, hours before the United Nations Security Council voted to strengthen the international force that has been unable to quell the chaos there.DAKAR, Senegal — Fighting tore through parts of the capital of the Central African Republic on Thursday, hours before the United Nations Security Council voted to strengthen the international force that has been unable to quell the chaos there.
Officials and citizens said some strategic locations in the city — a military camp, the neighborhood around the airport and an opposition district — appeared to have come under sustained assault from forces opposed to the rebel coalition that seized power in the country earlier this year.Officials and citizens said some strategic locations in the city — a military camp, the neighborhood around the airport and an opposition district — appeared to have come under sustained assault from forces opposed to the rebel coalition that seized power in the country earlier this year.
The shooting began in the early hours Thursday but had tapered off by midmorning, citizens said. The streets of Bangui were deserted and no vehicles were circulating on the capital’s dilapidated roads, apart from occasional patrols by the small French military force in the city and the rebel coalition’s pickups. An official with Doctors Without Borders, the medical relief organization, said that at least 50 people had been killed in the fighting, with 100 others wounded.
An official with Doctors Without Borders, the French medical relief organization, said that at least 50 people had been killed in the fighting, with 100 others wounded. The shooting began in the early hours Thursday, citizens said, but by midmorning the attackers appeared to have been pushed back from the neighborhood of the National Assembly, at the edge of an area fiercely opposed to the ruling rebel coalition. The streets of Bangui were deserted, and the situation remained confused, with officials of the rebel government saying that their forces had regained control, and others saying that the antigovernment fighters appeared to have penetrated the capital’s outlying neighborhoods.
By midmorning, the attackers appeared to have been pushed back from the neighborhood of the National Assembly, at the edge of an area fiercely opposed to the ruling rebel coalition. The fighting was a sign of the heightened instability in the country since the rebels seized power in March.
But the situation remained confused, with officials of the rebel government saying that their forces had regained control, and others saying that the antigovernment fighters had appeared to have penetrated into the capital’s outlying neighborhoods. The Central African Republic, a landlocked country of 4.6 million in the heart of Africa, has been subjected to a repeated cycle of coups, countercoups and rebellions. But the situation has worsened since the rebel group known as Seleka, or alliance, chased out the president, François Bozizé, this year and replaced him with Michel Djotodia.
The fighting was a sign of the heightened instability in the country since the rebels seized power in March. The Central African Republic, a landlocked country of 4.6 million in the heart of Africa, has been subjected to a repeated cycle of coups, countercoups and rebellions. Seleka, a mostly Muslim grouping in a largely Christian country, has exerted little authority over its own forces, which have subjected the population to repeated and well-documented killings, arbitrary arrests and kidnappings.
But the situation has worsened since the rebel group known as Seleka, or alliance, chased out the president, François Bozizé, earlier this year and replaced him with Michel Djotodia. Seleka, a mostly Muslim grouping in a largely Christian country, has exerted little authority over its own forces, which have since subjected the population to repeated and well-documented killings, arbitrary arrests and kidnappings. Militia groups — Christian, for the most part — have sprung up to oppose them, and the fighting Thursday appeared to be a calculated demonstration of force by Seleka’s opponents at a time when foreign powers were preparing to vote on a stronger intervention force.
Militia groups have sprung up to oppose them — Christian, for the most part — and the fighting Thursday appeared to be a calculated demonstration of force by Seleka’s opponents at a time when foreign powers were preparing to vote on a stronger intervention force. Seleka’s opponents have “chosen this moment to say, ‘We’re here, and you’ve got to reckon with us,'” said Renner Onana, an official with the United Nations mission in the country. “I think it is well calculated. It is not just a coincidence.”
The Security Council’s unanimous approval of a French resolution to strengthen the force, which had been expected, is likely to result in the deployment of hundreds more African Union soldiers and hundreds of French soldiers to augment the troop presence already on the ground. On Thursday, the Security Council unanimously voted to support the modest intervention force of more than 2,000 African Union troops that is already on the ground but has been unable to stem the fighting. The resolution asks world powers to donate to the effort, contributing funds to expend the African Union force to 3,600. France has deployed about 400 of its own soldiers as well, and its contingent is expected to grow to 1,200.
France, the former colonial ruler, has been especially vociferous in warning of the potential for large-scale ethnic and sectarian violence as exasperation with Seleka’s chaotic rule has increased. The support for the current African force falls short of authorizing a United Nations peacekeeping force, which would have been far more expensive, and the force is smaller than the 6,000 to 9,000 troops the secretary general had recommended. The Security Council resolution leaves open the possibility of deploying a full-fledged peacekeeping mission in the future, without specifying how much more violence would lead to a deployment of United Nations peacekeepers.
Seleka’s opponents have “chosen this moment to say, ‘We’re here, and you’ve got to reckon with us,’ ” said Renner Onana, an official with the substantial United Nations mission in the country. France, the country’s former colonial ruler, introduced the resolution and has been especially vociferous in warning of the potential for large-scale ethnic and sectarian violence. The memory of the massacres in Rwanda nearly 20 years ago plainly hangs over the crisis, and the statements of United Nations officials suggest that they are keen to avert a similar catastrophe.
“I think it is well calculated,” Mr. Onana said. “It is not just a coincidence.” “History has taught us the worst may happen,” Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the United Nations told reporters following the Security Council meeting. “History has taught us the Security Council needs to act.”
In recent weeks, United Nations officials have been invoking the prospect of genocide to draw attention to the Christian-versus-Muslim strife in the country, though they have been divided on how to arrest the bloodshed, including how much money to spend on it.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday called the Security Council resolution a “crucial step” toward addressing the crisis in the country. “However, this will only be a temporary fix and bolder steps are urgently needed,” the group said.
The American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, on Thursday insisted that the resolution was the most efficient way to save lives, while leaving open the possibility of a larger United Nations force later. “We need to employ the option today that will halt the carnage in C.A.R. most quickly,” she said.
Prosper Ndouba, a top adviser to Mr. Djotodia, the president backed by Seleka, said he was certain that Mr. Bozizé was behind the attacks Thursday. “It’s Bozizé's partisans,” Mr. Ndouba said. “They have always been in some of the neighborhoods.Prosper Ndouba, a top adviser to Mr. Djotodia, the president backed by Seleka, said he was certain that Mr. Bozizé was behind the attacks Thursday. “It’s Bozizé's partisans,” Mr. Ndouba said. “They have always been in some of the neighborhoods.
“It’s calmed down now,” he added. “The situation has stabilized.”“It’s calmed down now,” he added. “The situation has stabilized.”
Mr. Onana said the identities of those who struck in Bangui were unclear, which added to the menace for the government. “What’s certain is there is an armed opposition,” he said. “This is a country that has been completely given over to massacres and arrests since March.”Mr. Onana said the identities of those who struck in Bangui were unclear, which added to the menace for the government. “What’s certain is there is an armed opposition,” he said. “This is a country that has been completely given over to massacres and arrests since March.”

Adam Nossiter reported from Dakar, and Somini Sengupta from San Francisco.