UN redeploys peacekeepers from South Sudan to CAR ahead of elections

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is redeploying peacekeepers from South Sudan to the Central African Republic (CAR) to help maintain stability in the CAR ahead of Sunday's legislative and presidential elections, said a spokesman.

The Security Council on Wednesday approved Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' proposal for the temporary redeployment, for a two-month period, of two infantry companies and two military utility helicopters from the UN Mission in South Sudan to assist the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman.

The redeployment is to reinforce the operational capabilities of the CAR mission, known by its French acronym as MINUSCA, in the electoral context, he told a press briefing.

On the security front, the peacekeepers are continuing to actively engage in mitigating growing threats from armed groups throughout the CAR, he said.

MINUSCA is also continuing to provide support to the preparations of the elections. The peacekeeping mission reported that the deployment of sensitive election materials to all prefectures was completed on Wednesday, while voter card distribution continued all over the country. Some 85 percent of voter card distribution centers were open and had high turnout, despite the security challenges, according to the spokesman.

On Wednesday, MINUSCA also contributed half a million U.S. dollars to further help finance the elections, he said.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in the CAR, Denise Brown, on Thursday issued a statement expressing her concerns for the escalation of violence in several parts of the country ahead of Sunday's elections, said the spokesman.

Brown condemned the acts of violence that have led to increased insecurity and more than 55,000 people leaving their homes. She called on armed groups to comply with international humanitarian law and immediately stop all attacks against humanitarian personnel and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, said Dujarric. Enditem