"US envoy urges more help in Africa" Associated Press April 10, 2014
BANGUI, Central African Republic — The US ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday urged more support for existing African and French troops in Central African Republic on the eve of a UN vote to create a peacekeeping mission.
The largest U.N. mission in Congo failed to keep anything.
Ambassador Samantha Power, making her second visit to the country since sectarian violence erupted here in December, said the African peacekeeping mission is now working to fill the gap left by neighboring Chad. Last week the Chadian government began withdrawing its 850 troops following allegations some had killed dozens of unarmed civilians.
See: Suddenly Sudan is Back in the News
Also see:
"South Sudan is facing the most severe humanitarian crisis in Africa and perhaps the world. About 3.7 million people in South Sudan, a third of the population, are at risk of starvation as the rainy season looms, UN officials have said. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the conflict. In a detailed statement, Doctors Without Borders said the first rains of the season had collapsed 150 latrines in Tomping, their contents mixing with flood water and creating a severe risk of waterborne illnesses. It said diarrheal disease, respiratory infections, and skin ailments already accounted for more than 60 percent of the cases seen by the charity’s medical staff in the camp."
And don't think I UNMISSed the horror of massacres and mass killings -- nor who is behind it in the new country of South Sudan.
Power, who met Wednesday with officials from the African peacekeeping mission, said Cameroonian and French forces were being moved into the areas previously guarded by the Chadians.
‘‘This adds even more urgency to the task of getting more troops and more police deployed rapidly in order to fill those gaps which really do exist,” Power said.
The UN Security Council is due to vote Thursday on expanding the 5,000-strong African mission in Central African Republic into a UN peacekeeping operation for this country of 4.6 million people.
The move is expected to strengthen efforts to secure the country where thousands have died since December, though such an operation will not be ready until Sept. 15, she said.
We were led to believe the same regarding the U.N.'s Ivory Coast invasion, and that was a lie.
--more--"
"UN approves C. African Republic peacekeeping force" by Edith M. Lederer | Associated Press April 11, 2014
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved a nearly 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force for Central African Republic, where mounting violence between Christians and Muslims has brought killings, torture, and sexual violence.
Which is very strange since they have lived in peace for so many years.
The 10,000 UN troops and 1,800 police will take over from 5,000 African Union soldiers — but not until Sept. 15. A separate 2,000-strong French force in the Central African Republic was authorized to use ‘‘all necessary means’’ to support the new UN force.
How much protection UN troops will be able to offer is an open question. Keeping civilians safe throughout the Central African Republic, especially in rural areas, is already proving a difficult, if not impossible task. The country is the size of Texas, many roads have not been repaved since independence from France in 1960, and many of the people escaping violence have fled into the bush.
The country has been in chaos since a March 2013 coup, when mostly Muslim rebels seized power and set up a brutal regime. Christian militiamen attacked rebel strongholds in early December. As the rebel government crumbled in January, the Christian militiamen stepped up the violence, forcing tens of thousands of Muslims to flee.
Yeah, the ChrIstiAn militias just seemed to pop right up!
On the streets of the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui, reactions to the UN deployment were muted.
Cyrius Zemangui-Kette, 25, who is unemployed, said UN troops should have been sent in long ago, but the international community dragged its feet and now things have gotten worse.
After we got all that never again crap.
‘‘They say they’ll arrive in September,’’ he said. ‘‘Until then, lots of Central Africans will continue to die, so who are they coming to save?’’
Clashes between Christian and Muslim fighters in the central town of Dekoa that began Tuesday have left at least 30 people dead, a priest said Thursday. Most of the victims were civilians, killed by Muslims who fired into a crowd of people they mistook for Christian militants, the Rev. Everaldo De Suza of the Saint Anne parish said. A Christian commander confirmed the fighting but denied that his forces had started it.
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the killings, and Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, Central African Republic’s foreign minister, said the new resolution ‘‘lays the foundation for a solution and a way out of the crisis.’’
France, the country’s former colonial power, took the lead in mobilizing international support to address the crisis but its ambassador, Gerard Araud, said the security situation remains volatile.
In what can only be seen as recolonization.
‘‘African Union troops supported by the French troops are doing tremendous work to protect the civilian population but it’s not yet enough,’’ Araud said after the vote. ‘‘The resolution we have just adopted is a key turning point.’’
US Ambassador Samantha Power, who returned Thursday morning from her second visit to the country in less than four months, also praised the resolution and added: ‘‘I can personally attest to the critical urgency of bringing more security to the Central African Republic.’’
Power went to the Central African Republic after leading the US delegation to the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Rwanda genocide.
That's a bit ironic.
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Let the ethnic cleansing begin!
"1,300 Muslims escorted from African capital" Associated Press April 28, 2014
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Heavily armed peacekeepers escorted some of the last remaining Muslims out of Central African Republic’s volatile capital on Sunday, trucking more than 1,300 people who for months had been trapped by violent Christian militants.
Within minutes of the convoy’s departure, an angry swarm descended upon the mosque in a scene of total anarchy. Tools in hand, they swiftly dismantled and stole the loudspeaker once used for the call to prayer.
One man scrawled ‘‘Youth Center’’ in black marker across the front of the mosque. Others swept the dirt from the ground in front of the building with brooms and shouted, ‘‘We have cleaned Central African Republic of the Muslims!’’
‘‘We didn’t want the Muslims here and we don’t want their mosque here anymore either,’’ said Guy Richard, 36, as he and his friends made off with pieces of the mosque.
He's not a real Christian.
Armed Congolese peacekeepers stood watch but did not fire into the air or attempt to stop the looting. Soon teams of thieves were stripping the metal roofs of nearby abandoned businesses in the PK12 neighborhood of Bangui.
‘‘The Central Africans have gone crazy, pillaging a holy place,’’ said Congolese peacekeeper Staff Sergeant Pety-Pety, who refused to give his first name, as the mosque came under attack from militants. The anti-Balaka fighters showed up in their trademark wigs and hats adorned with amulets they believe protect them from bullets. Sunday’s exodus further partitions the country, a process that began in January, when a Muslim rebel government gave up power nearly a year after overthrowing the president.
It was a reverse coup.
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"Rebels attack hospital in Central African Republic" Associated Press April 28, 2014
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Dozens of heavily armed Muslim rebels opened fire in a hospital in Central African Republic, killing at least 16 people, including three local health workers for Doctors Without Borders, officials said Monday.
In further violence, a convoy transporting more than 1,300 Muslims to safety in the country’s far north came under attack, leaving at least two people dead, according to a spokesman with the African peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic.
The weekend attack on the hospital was the first time the international aid group has lost staff members in the country since sectarian violence began in December.
The group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, is the only group working in much of the impoverished country and has kept up its efforts despite the fighting.
Related: Myanmar Muzzles French Medics
Another muzzle applied in Myanmar.
The massacre took place in Boguila, in the northwest near the border with Chad, where MSF has operated since 2006. The heavily armed rebels assaulted the compound as health workers met with community leaders.
The group will suspend activities in Boguila following the killings, said Stefano Argenziano, the head of MSF in Central African Republic.
Related: French troops free Mali aid workers
Earlier this month, almost 7,000 people fled into the countryside after a convoy came under attack in the area. As many as 40 people sought refuge at the MSF clinic at the time, the group said.
Some 2,000 French troops and nearly 5,000 African peacekeepers are trying to stabilize Central African Republic, a country the size of Texas that is home to 4.6 million people. The violence also has targeted clergy.
--more--"
Also see: Timbuktu Rebuilt
I'm sure the U.N. will get around to it in the CAR:
"UN seeks $274m for C. African Republic" AP April 17, 2014
GENEVA — The United Nations and aid groups launched an appeal for $274 million Wednesday to help people who have fled the Central African Republic because of the sectarian conflict there, warning that the dire needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees can’t be met with existing funds.
The appeal is separate from the $547 million the UN asked donors for earlier this year to help some 600,000 people displaced inside the Central African Republic.
The UN refugee agency said that since December nearly 200,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring countries, and that figure is expected to rise to over 360,000 by the end of the year.
The UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, told diplomats in Geneva his agency is already spending three times as much as it has received so far.
‘‘This cannot be sustained,’’ he said.
Nor can the international banking pyramid scheme upon which all depends.
--more--"
Let the ethnic cleansing begin!
"1,300 Muslims escorted from African capital" Associated Press April 28, 2014
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Heavily armed peacekeepers escorted some of the last remaining Muslims out of Central African Republic’s volatile capital on Sunday, trucking more than 1,300 people who for months had been trapped by violent Christian militants.
Within minutes of the convoy’s departure, an angry swarm descended upon the mosque in a scene of total anarchy. Tools in hand, they swiftly dismantled and stole the loudspeaker once used for the call to prayer.
One man scrawled ‘‘Youth Center’’ in black marker across the front of the mosque. Others swept the dirt from the ground in front of the building with brooms and shouted, ‘‘We have cleaned Central African Republic of the Muslims!’’
‘‘We didn’t want the Muslims here and we don’t want their mosque here anymore either,’’ said Guy Richard, 36, as he and his friends made off with pieces of the mosque.
He's not a real Christian.
Armed Congolese peacekeepers stood watch but did not fire into the air or attempt to stop the looting. Soon teams of thieves were stripping the metal roofs of nearby abandoned businesses in the PK12 neighborhood of Bangui.
‘‘The Central Africans have gone crazy, pillaging a holy place,’’ said Congolese peacekeeper Staff Sergeant Pety-Pety, who refused to give his first name, as the mosque came under attack from militants. The anti-Balaka fighters showed up in their trademark wigs and hats adorned with amulets they believe protect them from bullets. Sunday’s exodus further partitions the country, a process that began in January, when a Muslim rebel government gave up power nearly a year after overthrowing the president.
It was a reverse coup.
--more--"
"Rebels attack hospital in Central African Republic" Associated Press April 28, 2014
BANGUI, Central African Republic — Dozens of heavily armed Muslim rebels opened fire in a hospital in Central African Republic, killing at least 16 people, including three local health workers for Doctors Without Borders, officials said Monday.
In further violence, a convoy transporting more than 1,300 Muslims to safety in the country’s far north came under attack, leaving at least two people dead, according to a spokesman with the African peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic.
The weekend attack on the hospital was the first time the international aid group has lost staff members in the country since sectarian violence began in December.
The group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, is the only group working in much of the impoverished country and has kept up its efforts despite the fighting.
Related: Myanmar Muzzles French Medics
Another muzzle applied in Myanmar.
The massacre took place in Boguila, in the northwest near the border with Chad, where MSF has operated since 2006. The heavily armed rebels assaulted the compound as health workers met with community leaders.
The group will suspend activities in Boguila following the killings, said Stefano Argenziano, the head of MSF in Central African Republic.
Related: French troops free Mali aid workers
Earlier this month, almost 7,000 people fled into the countryside after a convoy came under attack in the area. As many as 40 people sought refuge at the MSF clinic at the time, the group said.
Some 2,000 French troops and nearly 5,000 African peacekeepers are trying to stabilize Central African Republic, a country the size of Texas that is home to 4.6 million people. The violence also has targeted clergy.
--more--"
Also see: Timbuktu Rebuilt
I'm sure the U.N. will get around to it in the CAR:
"UN seeks $274m for C. African Republic" AP April 17, 2014
GENEVA — The United Nations and aid groups launched an appeal for $274 million Wednesday to help people who have fled the Central African Republic because of the sectarian conflict there, warning that the dire needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees can’t be met with existing funds.
The appeal is separate from the $547 million the UN asked donors for earlier this year to help some 600,000 people displaced inside the Central African Republic.
The UN refugee agency said that since December nearly 200,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring countries, and that figure is expected to rise to over 360,000 by the end of the year.
The UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, told diplomats in Geneva his agency is already spending three times as much as it has received so far.
‘‘This cannot be sustained,’’ he said.
Nor can the international banking pyramid scheme upon which all depends.
--more--"
