Some 450 Fighters Demobilized In CAR Since Entering Peace Deal In February - UN Spokesman

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) At least 450 soldiers from several armed groups in the west of the Central African Republic have been demobilized since the signing of the peace deal in February, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Thursday.

"The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that some 450 combatants from five armed groups have been disarmed and demobilized in the west of the country, since the signing of the peace agreement in February this year," Haq said.

Haq said the former combatants from these armed groups, including from the Democratic Front of the Central African People and the Union of Republican Forces, will serve in mixed special units, the country's armed forces, the police and the gendarmery.

The car government and 14 armed groups struck a peace accord on February 6 in the Sudanese city of Khartoum.

It has been violated on several occasions. The latest violation took place on May 21 when attacks, allegedly carried out by the 3R militia, one of the peace deal signatories, killed over 50 civilians near CAR's northwestern village of Paoua.

CAR has been suffering from a drawn-out conflict since a coup in 2013. Much of the fighting in recent years has been between Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka militias.

According to UN figures, the conflict has killed thousands of people, displaced over 642,000 civilians and forced some 575,000 to seek refuge in neighboring states. More than half of the country's population of 4.6 million requires humanitarian assistance.