New UN peacekeeping chief named for Central African Republic

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Parfait Onanga-Anyanga of Gabon to replace the ousted chief of the UN peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic, diplomats said.

According to France 24, Ban informed the UN Security Council members of his choice to replace Babacar Gaye of Senegal during a closed-door meeting called to discuss his unprecedented decision to fire a mission chief.

Gaye was sacked following a string of allegations of child sex abuse by peacekeepers serving in the UN force that have been deeply damaging to the United Nations.

Onanga-Anyanga recently served as Ban’s envoy to Burundi.

The UN force, which took over from an African Union mission nearly a year ago, has been plagued by a series of allegations involving its soldiers.

So far, there have been 57 claims of misconduct, 11 of which possibly involve child sex abuse.

The Central African Republic is struggling to recover from the sectarian violence that exploded after a 2013 coup, pitting mainly Muslim rebels against Christian militias.