Hollande summons mini-summit on CAR during Mali visit
French President François Hollande hold a mini-summit on the Central African Republic (CAR) with the leaders of Gabon, Chad and Cameroon on the sidelines of Thursday's investiture of new Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. They will discuss how to bring the situation in the violence-torn country to the United Nations.
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Gabon, Chad and Cameroon are the main contributors to the African Union force in CAR, whose former president François Bozizé is now in exile in Paris after being toppled by Séléka rebels in March.
"The president wants to encourage this approach, see what they need and how to bring the issue to the United Nations," said a member of Hollande's entourage.
The idea is to "enable the force to press for a resolution from the Security Council", he added.
Hollande is due attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
CAR transitional President Michel Djotodia appealed for international aid to confront two "challenges", security and the humanitarian situation, in an interview with the French newspaper Libération.
Foreign Affairs Minister Léonie Banga Bothy will make anew call for aid at the UN next Wednesday, he said, adding that although the security situation has improved in the capital, Bangui, it is deteriorating in the provinces.
Recent sectarian attacks on Muslims were an attempt to stir up sectarian conflict, said Djotodia, implying that Bozizé's supporters were responsible for the attacks.
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