By Associated Press - Thursday, February 20, 2014

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the African Union and France to rapidly deploy at least 3,000 additional troops and police to the Central African Republic to prevent further religious killings that have forced almost one million people to flee their homes.

Ban warned that the violence is partitioning the country into Muslim and Christian areas and said security requirements “far exceed the capabilities” of the nearly 6,000 AU peacekeepers and 1,600 French troops in the country, and the 500 more promised by the European Union.

The secretary-general said he will be recommending a future U.N. peacekeeping operation whose deployment will take months, but “the people of Central African Republic don’t have months to wait.”

He said France and the EU have pledged reinforcements, but more are needed.

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