Pretoria - South Africa will not deploy troops to the war torn Central African Republic (CAR), says Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula.
“Let the world hear that there isn’t enough personnel. I can certainly say that without any fear of contradiction that for now there is absolutely no intention [of deploying troops to CAR],” she said.
Briefing reporters on Monday during a post SONA briefing, the minster noted that there is indeed a crisis in CAR. The issue, she said, was not about the shortage of troops in that country as there were troops on the ground from the region, the EU and the French.
“The issue is about how best do you utilise the forces that you have at hand. How do you coordinate the activities of the various forces which are deployed by different countries on the ground? Adding more boots will not help if there isn’t proper coordination,” she explained.
On Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced his concerns at the latest upsurge in CAR.
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed, and 2.2 million, about half the population of the CAR, need humanitarian aid as a result of the conflict that began in December 2012, when Muslim Seleka rebels launched attacks. – SAnews.gov.za
