The Central African Republic (CAR) has declared a state of emergency as the military and UN forces try to repel advancing rebel groups seeking to overthrow the government.
The anti-government fighters, who now control two-thirds of the country, have surrounded the capital Bangui.
The UN envoy for CAR warned that the country was “in serious danger”.
The rebels dispute the validity of President Faustin Archange Touadéra’s re-election in last month’s poll.
Authorities accused former president François Bozizé, who was blocked in the December 27 election, of escalating violence.
“The perpetrators … of these memorable crimes against the people of CAR will be found, arrested and brought before the competent courts,” President Touadéra said on Monday while also calling for national reconciliation.
Mr Bozizé, who came to power in 2003 before being overthrown in 2013, denied the allegations.
‘Children with a severe crisis’
At least 200,000 civilians have been directly affected by the fighting since December, and at least half the number remain displaced from their homes, says UNICEF of the UN agency for children.
“This new wave of violence and displacement raises humanitarian needs at a time when the Central African people are already dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and years of conflict and insecurity,” said Fran Equiza, UNICEF’s representative in CAR, said.
He said children were ‘the heaviest of this crisis’.
“We call on all parties to ensure that civilians, especially children and women, are protected and kept out of the way, in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law,” he said. Equiza said.
Call for more UN peacekeepers
The state of emergency declared Thursday night will last 15 days, government spokesman Albert Yaloke Mokpeme said on national radio.
He said soldiers would be allowed to be arrested without going through prosecutors.
The BBC’s Pacôme Pabandji in Bangui says many residents of the capital are not surprised by the state of emergency, given the deteriorating security situation in recent weeks.
According to security sources, the statement was a necessary step after the information arrested over the past few days suggested that the government was threatening.
CAR “runs a serious risk of a setback for security and peacebuilding,” said UN Secretary-General Mankeur Ndiaye.
He called on the UN Security Council to increase the number of peacekeepers with a flexible mandate, enabling them to respond to the growing security challenges in the country.
Mr. Ndiaye did not specify the security sources he wanted to deploy, but the Reuters news agency, citing a source close to the UN mission, Minusca, reported that CAR needed 3,000 extra peacekeepers, attack helicopters and even special forces.
According to Mr. Ndiaye has left a large number of government troops due to insufficient training and resources.
At least 12,000 peacekeepers are already on the ground in CAR.
Before the December election, Rwanda and Russia sent reinforcements to help the government. France also sent in military resources to support the government of President Touadéra.
Meanwhile, the government is calling for the lifting of a 2013 UN arms embargo which it sees as an obstacle in its fight against the rebels.