Brussels, July 31, (dpa/GNA) – The European Union is launching a civilian training mission for security forces and Interior Ministry officials in the Central African Republic (CAR), set to become operational on August 9 for an initial period of two years.
EU civilian experts will help with reform of the country’s security enforcement officials and police, according to a press release from EU member states on Thursday, and help them better tackle internal challenges.
The diamond-rich but poverty-stricken nation has been in crisis since late 2012, when violence broke out between Muslim and Christian rebel groups.
After a period of relative calm in 2016, fighting erupted again in early 2017 in various towns across the country.
Even though the government signed a peace deal with 14 armed groups in early 2019, officially ending seven years of civil conflict, violence has continued to flare up in various parts of the landlocked country.
The new EU mission – agreed upon in principle by the 27 member states late last year – comes on top of an already established military mission which has trained some 3,400 soldiers in CAR since 2016.
The mandate for the military training mission was also extended for a further two years on Thursday, until September 2022.
GNA