Peace-keeping is not as rosy as it sounds. The adage that anyone who seeks peace should prepare for war is Lesson Number 1 for United Nations peacekeepers around the globe. The UN Mission in the troubled Central African Republic, CAR, known by its French acronym, MINUSCA, has given armed groups in the north of the country forty-eight hours to clear out.
The Mission wants to clear a 50 kilometer perimeter around the town in order to allow displaced persons to return.
Over the last three weeks, 60,000 people – mostly women – left everything behind to escape clashes between the armed groups, Justice Riot (RJ) and the National Movement for the Liberation of the Central African Republic (MNLC).
A report said they ended up in Paoua, where some 40,000 residents took them in. But according to the report, food and water are running out there.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in the CAR, Najat Rochdi, has painted a graphical picture of the emergency situation in the country, pointing out that it would take an urgent supra-military action to quell the fighting in the north of the country.
