UN calls for end to Central African Republic violence

UNITED NATIONS. The United Nations is urging Central African Republic Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye to restore security in the strife-torn nation, a UN spokesman said Saturday.At a meeting in Cameroon, top UN official Jeffrey Feltman passed on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “deep concern over the alarming situation regarding security and human rights in the country,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.The Central African Republic has been in turmoil since a Seleka rebel coalition seized power in Bangui on March 24, with authorities failing to halt widespread looting and other violence.Feltman urged Tiangaye “to exercise his leadership in helping to restore calm throughout the country.”Feltman also reiterated UN support for January’s Libreville accords, which had aimed to resolve the crisis in the country.The UN would “remain engaged with the Central African Republic’s regional and international partners to provide humanitarian assistance, as security conditions permit,” Nesirky said.On Thursday, leaders in the region said they would increase their military force in the Central African Republic by 2,000 soldiers in a bid to restore order.