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[quote]A French-led military operation to protect civilians in the Central African Republic is being launched "immediately", after scores died in fresh sectarian fighting on Thursday.
A contingent of 650 troops there will be "doubled within a few days, if not a few hours," President Hollande said.
Earlier the UN Security Council voted to allow French troops to join an African peacekeeping force in the CAR.
Violence there has raised fears of mass killings along sectarian lines.[/quote]
This is quite interesting, to say the least. The conflict in CAR is becoming more sectarian, more violent and the UN even said that [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24800682]the conflict is on the verge of genocide[/url].
Being that the conflict is primarily stemming from violence between the Christian majority and the Muslim minority, I worry about how Islamic terrorist organizations (primarily Boko Haram and/or al-Shabaab, which are two al-Qaeda affiliates) are going to handle this conflict. In fact, it is being reported that Boko Haram is [url=http://www.voanews.com/content/lawless-car-attracting-terrorists-attention/1795564.html]already active in CAR[/url]. Admittedly, I really don't know too much about CAR, but I do know that they have large diamond and gold reserves. These are two resources that would easily be able to fund any terrorist activity.
In my opinion, given the US's and France's recent attention to African terrorism, I am very interested into how this situation is going to play out. This is, of course, not to downplay the growing humanitarian crisis in the country.
What do you guys think about France sending more troops to Africa? Any opinions or views on the recent, disturbing trend of violence going on in Central African Republic right now? Any thoughts on how the increasing chaos and sectarian divisions could lead to another terrorism hotspot?
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If Mali is anything to go by, the French know their shit. I just hope they go beyond military intervention, and attempt some sort of humanitarian aid to deter people from extremism.