CAR: UN peacekeepers will need our help

In her first address to the United Nations General Assembly, the interim president of the Central African Republic (CAR) urged the international community to rethink weapons sanctions imposed during the country's mostly sectarian violence.

"I should here like to ask for the understanding of the sanctions committee to ensure that the arms embargo imposed on the Central African Republic be reassessed and re-examined," Samba-Panza said at the UN headquarters.

She was elected interim president in January as part of a plan to restore order in the country following a coup and months of subsequent violence by Muslim and Christian militia groups. Two weeks ago, the UN took over from an African Union peacekeeping mission, months after the mission was theoretically approved in April. Eventually, the UN hopes to station around 12,000 blue berets in the country, although that force is not currently available.

"We place great hope in the deployment of this mission, a mission which will contribute to - in an effective way - securing our country and sustainable development," Samba-Panza said. "It remains true, however, that the success of this mission will also hinge on the involvement at its side of the national security and defense forces likely to lend support to this mission as a result of their intimate knowledge of the terrain."

Samba-Panza said she was working with help from the international community to organize national elections by February and to restore normalcy to the country. She asked for the embargo to be altered to allow CAR forces the equipment necessary to work alongside UN personnel.

Late arrival, daunting logistical mission

More than a quarter of CAR's population of 4.8 million has been displaced by the fighting, stemming back to a coup in March 2013. After taking power from President Francois Bozize, Muslim Seleka rebels conducted months of looting and killing. A broadly Christian militia calling itself anti-Balaka then took up arms, forcing thousands of Muslims to flee their homes - only one district of the capital Bangui retains a meaningful Muslim population.

At least 5,000 people are known to have died in the unrest, and the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes on both sides. By December 2013, with the violence spreading, the UN imposed an arms embargo against the country.

In January, an interim power-sharing government led by Samba-Panza took over; the security situation has since improved, but unrest persists. The warring parties signed a ceasefire agreement on July 23. Samba-Panza appealed to the international community to support domestic efforts towards constitutional reform and a lasting peace deal.

The vast country with poor infrastructure - roughly the size of Texas or Spain, but with a population of less than 5 million - could prove a challenge for UN forces to police, as Herve Ladsous acknowledged. The UN peacekeeping chief told reporters that while "the logistics in a landlocked country like the Central African Republic are absolutely daunting," the mission so far was going "pretty well."

The majority of the 7,500 UN troops currently in CAR hail from Africa, and almost 1,000 were party to the previous African Union-led peacekeeping mission. As part of this year's General Assembly, an appeal was launched for UN peacekeeping forces to be deployed more swiftly, and to be better equipped.

msh/jm (AFP, AP, Reuters)