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Johannesburg – South Africa and France agree that intervention is needed in the Central African Republic (CAR) to help stabilise the country, President Jacob Zuma said yesterday.“The foreign minister of France gave a report… that the problem [in the country] is getting worse. Even the question of religion among the people is beginning to set in,” Zuma told reporters at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
“We [South Africa] agreed that we need to do something and act quickly. We have committed… that we are going to be ready to be part of the solution to help the Central African Republic come back to its normality.”
Zuma did not specify the role South Africa would play in the intervention. He was speaking to the media after a meeting with French President Francois Hollande.
Zuma said an interim government was given 18 months to hold elections, following a coup.
“It is clear that the work towards elections cannot happen, because of the situation. It therefore needs urgent intervention.”
He said any intervention needed to be done within the frameworks of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations.
Speaking in French, Hollande said there needed to be more intervention by African countries in conflicts on their own continent.
“We thought it necessary to mobilise the AU and the UN Security Council to… [have] a force to help the Central African Republic reach stability,” he said. – Sapa
Online Reporter