French troops deployed in the strife-torn Central African Republic on Saturday, while the African Union (AU) said it would nearly double its force to try to stamp out deadly sectarian violence.
The communal violence, which has terrorized rural towns for months, flared in the capital Bangui on Thursday, leaving at least 300 dead in a wave of attacks, the Red Cross said.
Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia declared a three-day period of mourning beginning yesterday for the victims.
French President Francois Hollande, describing the bloodshed as “terrifying,” announced he would send 400 more troops than previously envisaged, boosting a UN-mandated force to 1,600 troops by Saturday night.
He said this number would not increase and most troops would not stay more than six months.
The French presidency also announced the AU would boost the International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA) force to 6,000 troops from a planned 3,600.
MISCA, currently 2,500-strong, has been unable to stem the country’s descent into chaos since a coalition of rebel fighters known as Seleka overthrew former Central African Republic president Francois Bozize in March.
Seleka leader Djotodia became president, the first Muslim leader of the mostly Christian country.
Although he informally disbanded the Seleka, the former rebels continued to wreak havoc.
Local Christians responded by forming vigilante groups and the government quickly lost control of the country.
Reports have described a series of horrors, with security forces and militia gangs razing villages, carrying out public killings and perpetrating widespread rapes.
Doctors Without Borders said in a statement it had treated 190 people in the past two days for injuries such as bullet, machete or knife wounds.
The Bangui prosecutor on Saturday announced a “war arsenal” including AK-47s, ammunition and bags of combat gear had been found at the home of Central African Republic Minister of Interior and Security Josue Binoua, an ally of Bozize.
Prosecutor Ghislain Grezenguet said a judicial inquiry had been opened against Binoua, who has often railed against the “Islamic peril” posed by the Seleka rebels.
About 200 French troops on Saturday rolled into the mainly Christian town of Bouar in the west of the country.
“It is reassuring to see the French,” Bangui gasoline seller Adolphe said.
The relief was also palpable in Bouar, 370 km northwest of the capital, one of France’s main military bases in Africa and a nerve center for the area that saw some of the worst violence at the height of the Seleka rebellion.
The latest violence appeared to vindicate recent warnings from France, the US and others that the country was on the brink of collapse, with tensions soaring between its Christian and Muslim communities.
Hollande ordered the launch of operation “Sangaris” — named after a local butterfly — on Thursday after winning a UN Security Council mandate to send a peacekeeping force to the country.
The UN resolution gives the French-backed African force a 12-month mandate and the right to use “all necessary measures” to restore order.
However, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that up to 9,000 troops could be needed to quell violence that has spread through the country of 4.6 million, of whom 80 percent are Christian.
“I sincerely hope that MISCA will be transformed into a UN peacekeeping force,” Ban said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was