UN backs EU force in Central Africa amid troops push

The UN Security Council on Tuesday gave European troops backing to use force in Central African Republic amid a new international push to end deadly chaos in the country.The United Nations believes at least 10,000 troops will eventually be needed to restore order, France's UN ambassador said after the latest UN Security Council initiative on the crisis.The 15-nation council unanimously backed a resolution that allows a proposed European Union contingent to use "all necessary force" to protect civilians caught in 10 months of strife since rebels seized power.The European Union agreed last week to send up to 600 troops to back just over 3,500 African Union and 1,600 French troops already battling to end clashes between Muslim and Christian groups in Central African Republic.Resolution 2134 also allows for sanctions against the ringleaders of groups blamed for massacres and human rights abuses, but did not name initial targets for an asset freeze and travel ban.It called on Central African Republic's interim government to speed up moves toward new elections.A transitional accord between rival groups set a deadline of February next year for elections. The council said polls should be held in the second half of 2014 if possible.Rebels ousted Central African Republic's longtime president in March last year, but an interim government lost control of the country while animosity between the Christian and Muslim communities have added a deadly twist to events.France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud said the resolution was "a new milestone" in efforts to help Central African Republic out of the strife in which thousands are feared killed and more than 900,000 people have fled their homes.He said that while international forces are "starting to stabilize" events, the country remains in "very, very dire" condition."There is an incredible amount of resentment and hatred between the two communities," he said of clashes between Muslim and Christian groups.According to Araud, the EU troops will protect Bangui airport, which has turned into a giant camp for some 100,000 civilians, and protect humanitarian convoys.This he said would "free" French forces to go into the city where lynchings and lootings are still reported and into the provinces.France, however, is leading a push for the United Nations to take over the international forces already in the country.The African Union stabilization force, officially known as MISCA, is meant to grow to 6,000 troops but Araud said it was now recognized as "too low because, frankly, the situation is very, very dire and the country is huge."The (UN) secretariat is really thinking that at least 10,000 soldiers are necessary," he added.He also said there were problems finding finance for MISCA.UN leader Ban Ki-moon is to report to the Security Council at the end of February on the next stage of international military efforts to help Central African Republic.Council diplomats said that the African Union has demanded that MISCA be given a year to prove its worth. They added, however, that a UN force now seems inevitable even though there would be disputes over its mandate and financing.The French and African troops have started efforts to disarm and return many of the rebels to barracks. But the UN has highlighted the precarious security conditions.The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that after being blocked at the Cameroon border for several weeks, 10 trucks carrying food supplies had completed the 600 kilometer (360 mile) trip to Bangui on Monday.Despite an escort of African troops, "the convoy was slowed by frequent improvised checkpoints set up by armed groups," said a WFP statement."Another 41 commercial trucks carrying WFP cereals are still stranded at the Cameroonian border, along with hundreds of other vehicles," added the statement."Drivers are reluctant to cross the border, despite the offer of military escorts along the road to Bangui. The impact on food supplies to the capital and the rest of the country has been disastrous," the UN said.