Stopping violence in CAR, high priority: PM
Iran Press TV
Sun Jan 26, 2014 4:30PM GMT
The newly named prime minister in the Central African Republic (CAR) says stopping unrelenting massacres and other atrocities across the country is high on the agenda.
Andre Nzapayeke, a regional banking official, made his remarks on Sunday, one day after he was appointed as premier by the newly elected interim President Catherine Samba Panza.
Nzapayeke said ending the ever-growing violence, which has wreaked havoc in the country for months, is the key to bringing stability and security back on track.
The Central African Republic spiraled into chaos in March 2013 when Seleka fighters overthrew President Francois Bozizé and brought Michel Djotodia to power.
Djotodia, however, stepped down on January 10, under intense pressure over the government's failure to stem the deadly violence in December, which left more than 1,000 people dead and nearly one million displaced.
On January 20, Catherine Samba Panza, the mayor of the restive capital Bangui was elected as the interim president of the Central African Republic.
'I'm going to be speaking with the different groups so that we immediately stop certain... atrocities being carried out in this country. We have to put a stop to all that quickly,' Nzapayeke said, adding that he had planned to “put a team in place that's going to deal with the question of national reconciliation."
He went on to explain that the next step would be assisting the one million citizens who were forced to flee the violence, to return.
Nzapayeke also mentioned that his country would be seeking help from its “friends in the international community," to overcome the mounting crisis.
Both the interim president and the premier are tasked with restoring peace and bracing the violence-stricken county for elections later this year.
MM/PR/SL
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