UN calls for safety guarantee of CAR peacekeepers

The UN Security Council has called on the Central African Republic authorities and other forces in the country to ensure the safety of peacekeepers.

The security council said that attacks against the UN peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes”.

It also condemned violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the country.

“The members of the Security Council strongly condemned ongoing human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the CAR, and stressed the need to bring to justice their perpetrators,” the AP news agency quoted a statement after a briefing to the council by Mankeur Ndiaye, the UN special envoy to the Central African Republic.

The council called on the authorities “and all forces present on the ground to coordinate and take all appropriate measures to enhance the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers and personnel”.

It came as France suspended budgetary aid and military co-operation with the CAR government.

France accused CAR of being “complicit” in a disinformation campaign supported by Russia, the AFP news agency reported.

The French foreign ministry said that €10m ($12.2m;£8.6m) in budgetary aid to the CAR government would be “suspended until further notice”.

The country has been in turmoil since 2013 when Muslim rebels from the Seleka umbrella group seized power in the majority Christian country.