Cameroon on Tuesday sent its sixth contingent of troops to restive Central African Republic (CAR) to join UN peacekeeping forces mission focused on the stabilization and protection of civilian population.

Speaking at a send-off ceremony in the capital city, Yaounde, Cameroon’s Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo highlighted the peace efforts of Cameroonian troops in the CAR.

“Always determined to fulfill its regional and international commitments as concerns collective security in an honorable, decent and effective manner, the troops have provided the CAR with multifaceted support in order to enable the country to get its institutions which have already been damaged for several years now back on its feet,” Assomo said.

The soldiers are to contribute to the return of peace and stability while strictly respecting UN regulation of impartiality and respect for human rights during their mission, the minister said.

According to Assomo, the sixth contingent comprises 750 soldiers and 350 staff members of the National Gendarmerie.

The contingent is part of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) which started in 2014 to protect CAR civilians under the UN Charter.

The contingent is taking over from predecessors who spent a year building peace in the war-torn country.

The conflicts still in progress in CAR started in 2013 following a violent takeover of power by the armed group Seleka, meaning coalition in Sango, CAR’s national language.

Source: Xinhuanet