UNITED NATIONS, July 25 (RIA Novosti) - The UN Security Council on Thursday issued a statement which “welcomed the signing of a cessation of hostilities and violence agreement between armed groups in the Central African Republic.”
The agreement was inked on July 23 during the Central African National Reconciliation Forum held in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Among the signatories were representatives of the predominantly Muslim ex-Seleka, and the predominantly Christian anti-Balaka armed groups.
The UN is set to become responsible for peacekeeping in the Central African Republic on September 15, replacing the African Union force currently in the country.
The Security Council's members on Thursday “applauded the efforts led by the Mediator of the Economic Community of Central African States, President Denis Sassou Nguesso, and its Chairperson, with the support of the United Nations and the African Union, to broker this cessation of hostilities and violence agreement between the parties.”
Referring to the impending hand-over of peacekeeping responsibilities, the Security Council's statement “encouraged the United Nations Secretariat to take all necessary steps to ensure that the transfer of authority from MISCA to MINUSCA on September 15 translates into a significantly enhanced international military presence in the CAR in order to implement the priority tasks of its mandate.”
