Poland has agreed to send 50 troops to offer logistics and technical aid to France's operation in the Central African Republic, according to local media. "I want to state very precisely that this aid is logistic and technical and will concern air transport," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a press conference following the EU summit in Brussels. Tusk added that the decision was taken due to France's strategic partnership with Poland, especially in the defence area. France has been asking for help from its European partners to bolster its peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic. It has deployed 1,600 troops to the African country to prevent escalating bloodshed between Muslim and Christian rebels that left hundreds of people dead and forced thousands others to flee the capital.