French forces in CAR to rise to 1,600: Hollande

French President Francois Hollande says the number of French troops operating in the violence-stricken Central African Republic (CAR) will rise to 1,600 by Saturday evening.

At the end of a two-day summit, which was attended by leaders from 40 African countries in the French capital, Paris, Hollande said his country would have 1,600 troops deployed to the CAR by Saturday evening, 400 more than previously envisaged by the UN resolution.

Hollande further stated that Paris would try to gather support from its European Union partners, including Britain and Germany, in an effort to help fund a pan-African military force capable of intervening in crises similar to the current one in the CAR.

Earlier in the day, French army spokesman, Gilles Jarron, said France’s contingent is currently at its full strength of 1,200 forces with the new deployment of some 200 soldiers, who crossed the border from Cameroon into the CAR on Saturday.

On December 5, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the CAR. According to the resolution, up to 3,600 African and 1,200 French troops are authorized to contain the violence in the former French colony.

The resolution was approved shortly after the latest wave of violence in the troubled African country claimed at least 300 lives.

The mission in the CAR is France’s second military intervention in Africa in 2013. In January, Paris dispatched more than 4,000 troops to Mali, launching a fierce war against the militants in the country.

France currently has over 5,000 troops stationed at bases across the continent, costing Paris around 400 million euros (USD 540 million) per year.