France pulling troops from CAR as UN readies for full deployment

France is withdrawing its troops from the Central African Republic (CAR) amid the impending full deployment of a UN peacekeeper force to the violence-plagued country, the head of the French force says.

General Eric Bellot des Minieres said the number of French troops would be reduced while the UN increases its forces in the landlocked country in Central Africa.

“[France’s] Sangaris [troops] will not stay like it is,” he said, adding, “Once the MINUSCA (the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic) is fully operational, we will reorganize into a smaller force, based most probably in (the capital) Bangui.”

France currently has 2,000 troops in its former African colony.

Other French army officials, whose names were not mentioned, also noted that despite the withdrawal of troops from CAR, the European country will keep a presence to enable UN forces to respond quickly to threats.

They said France will send more military hardware such as Tiger attack helicopters and surveillance drones to the region.

MINUSCA is scheduled to be at full capacity of 12,000 peacekeepers in CAR by February 2015.

The African country descended into chaos last year, when Christian armed groups launched coordinated attacks against the Seleka group that toppled the government in March 2013.

On December 5, France invaded its former colony after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the country.

However, foreign troops have so far failed to contain the violence in the country.