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French president vows military intrusion in its former Central African colony

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:37AM GMT

French President Francois Hollande has threatened to deploy more military forces to its mineral-rich ex-colony of Central African Republic (CAR) while urging the UN and African Union to join the scheme.

"It's more than time to take action on the Central African Republic," Hollande proclaimed on Tuesday during an annual meeting in Paris of dozens of French ambassadors posted across the globe.

He further called on the United Nations Security Council and the African Union to follow along with the French intervention bid in the impoverished African country, claiming that failure to take action in CAR would lead the nation towards a situation similar to that of Somalia.

"This county is on the verge of Somalization," the French president asserted. "I call on the African Union and the Security Council to take up this very grave situation."

Meanwhile, a French diplomatic source has reportedly revealed the willingness of Paris to deploy more troops in the African nation, where it already maintains a contingent of military forces at the airport in CAR’s capital of Bangui.

This is while the country's newly sworn-in rebel leader Michel Djotodia, who was elected in a French-backed vote, is struggling to exercise control over the nation, which has witnessed a string of power changes since its independence from France in 1960.

The development comes as senior UN authorities warned earlier this month that Central African Republic was on the verge of disintegration and that the crisis was threatening to expand beyond its borders.

The officials further called for the Security Council to adopt measures to fund and support an African Union peacekeeping force in the former French colony.

France also launched a military intervention in Mali back in January under the pretext of halting the advancement of rebel fighters in the country.

The war has resulted in a serious humanitarian crisis in the northern areas of Mali.

Less than a couple of months into its Mali war, French media outlets reported that the military effort had cost Paris over 100 million euros.

MFB/MFB