The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of African and French troops to the chaotic and war-ravaged Central African Republic, CNN reported. The council also voted to impose an arms embargo on the nation.
The France-led Security Council resolution "authorizes an African Union-led peacekeeping force to intervene with the support of French forces to protect civilians, restore humanitarian access and stabilize the country," CNN also reported.
Just hours before the meeting, heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential palace in the capital city of Bangui, witnesses said. Violence erupted in the country, leaving nearly 100 people dead and scores more wounded, The Associated Press reported,
"Reports say ~10% of #CAR displaced by violence, Christians & Muslims hiding in churches & mosques, and gruesome machete attacks last night," Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, tweeted on Thursday night.
After the U.N. Security Council approved the resolution, French President Francois Hollande announced he would double the number of troops in the former French colony to about 1,200.
Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye told The Associated Press he sees it "very positively" and that he had wanted a "firm reaction from France." He called for fast action "to put an end to this violence and these atrocities."
"I think that (the African Union-led force known as) MISCA and France will be able to re-establish security very quickly. The unrest reigns all across the country. But the priority today is to get back security in Bangui where there are clashes," Tiangaye told The AP.
The U.N. resolution has "authorized French forces, for a temporary period, "to take all necessary measures" to support the AU-led force, whose troop numbers are expected to rise from about 2,500 to 3,500," The AP also reported.
"The Secretary-General strongly welcomes the adoption by the Security Council today of resolution 2127 which authorizes under Chapter VII of the UN Charter the vitally needed deployments of African and French forces, among other measures, to address the grave situation in the Central African Republic. This is an important and timely step that sends a message of international resolve to respond to the crisis," as released in a statement to reporters.
"The Secretary-General... underlines the importance of the early deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA), recalling in particular its mandate to protect civilians," the Secretary-General added.
