(Transcript from World News Radio)
The United Nations Security Council has approved sending 12,000 peacekeepers to the Central African Republic.
Council members voted unanimously in favour of sending the troops, who will replace the 8000 foreign soldiers currently in the country.
But with the relief soldiers only arriving in September, and a conflict that has already seen thousands killed, will it be too little, too late?
Andrea Nierhoff reports.
LISTEN: New peacekeeping force for Central African RepublicIt's just over a year since the government of the Central African Republic was overthrown by the largely Muslim Seleka group.
But it's been long enough to see around two-thousand people killed, and more than a quarter of the population displaced.
The toppling of President Francis Bozize's government prompted a flood of attacks against the majority Christian population, and led to warnings from the United Nations of a possible genocide.
Then in January, when Muslim President Michel Djotodia stepped down under international pressure, Christians began to retaliate.
Now, with tensions between Christians and Muslims still high, the UN Security Council has agreed to send a 12,000 strong peacekeeping force to try to restore order.
French Ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud says that the decision will help bring stability.
"The security situation in CAR remains volatile. African Union troops supported by the French troops are doing tremendous work to protect the civilian population. But it's not yet enough. The resolution we just adopted is a key turning point. It authorizes the deployment of a genuine U.N. peacekeeping operation in CAR, MINUSCA, which will comprise close to 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers: 10,000 soldiers, 2,000 police and gendarmerie."
The new peacekeepers will take over from the 2000 French soldiers, and 6000 African Union soldiers already stationed in the C-A-R.
But they're not scheduled to arrive until September.
Gerard Araud says the next few months will be used to source and train people for the mission.
"Unfortunately the UN is always a bit slow to deploy a peacekeeping operation. You know, you have to find contingents. You have to find soldiers and policemen ready to go to the Central African Republic. You have to equip them. You have to bring them to the spot. So in the coming months we are going to do it. Secondly, the UN is going immediately to support the African force, because we have already 6000 African soldiers there, they are doing a great job in very difficult circumstances, but they are lacking some capabilities, and we are going to give them these capabilities, so they can deploy themselves throughout the country."
United Nations Director for Human Rights Watch, Philippe Bolopion says the new peacekeeping force will give a much-needed boost to the country.
But he told Al Jazeera he's critical of how long it's taking to organise.
"Right now it's not going to make much of a difference for, for example the last Muslims who are living under siege in Bangui, the capital city. The peacekeepers will not be deployed for another six months so the creation of the peacekeeping mission is good news, we have been calling for it for many months now--it should've happened earlier. So there is a huge task to be accomplished and the resolution today is just a first step in that direction."
The decision to send in the new peacekeeping force comes after key African Union member, Chad, announced it was withdrawing its troops from the CAR.
But this latest deployment will also be a highly delicate operation, with ruling Seleka saying they'll be watching to make sure the UN soldiers stick to peacekeeping duties only.
"If the Blue Berets come here to bring peace, security and to reassure the communities and bring reconciliation, that's good, all the better. If it's something else, that's not done, we won't accept it. If they are not up to it, if it is to put the Central African Republic under supervision, if we are going to lose our sovereignty, there is no need for them to come."
The UN resolution also encouraged the country's authorities to speed-up preparations to hold presidential and legislative elections by February 2015.
But the interim head of Seleka, General Mohamed Dhaffane, says as so many of the nation's citizens have fled the country to escape the fighting, holding elections so soon would be out of the question.
"No, it's not possible. It's not possible because there is a very very important margin of the Central African population which is taking refuge outside. We can not organise elections without taking these votes into account. They have weight economically on the life of the country. A country without an economy, what kind of a country is that?"
