30 March 2016•Update: 12 April 2016
BANGUI, Central African Republic
France will end its military operations in Central African Republic this year after two-and-a-half years of sectarian conflict, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday.
Addressing French troops stationed at Bangui’s M'Poko airport, Le Drian said: "I can confirm to you the end of Operation Sangaris during the course of 2016. In two years, Sangaris force has succeeded in restoring calm and prevent the unacceptable.”
Le Drian was in Central African Republic to attend the inauguration ceremony of newly-elected President Faustin-Archange Touadera.
When the French deployed forces in 2013, "the country was in civil war, torn by religious tensions [between Christians and Muslims], in chaos, bordering pre-genocide situations," Le Drian recalled.
"Of course, not everything has been resolved but we finally see the country out of a long period of turmoil and uncertainty," he added.
The French defense minister, however, gave no specific timetable for withdrawal of troops but said that about 300 French soldiers will remain in Central African Republic and join the UN force, MINUSCA.
French soldiers stationed in the Ivory Coast and the Sahel will also be "ready to respond quickly" if necessary, he said.
In 2014, Operation Sangaris, a name describing the French military intervention in the country, had some 2,400 soldiers.
Nearly 900 French soldiers are currently in Central African Republic as part of Operation Sangaris.
In 2013, Muslim Seleka militia removed President Francois Bozize, a Christian who had come to power in a 2003 coup. The rebels later installed Michel Djotodia, a Muslim, as an interim president.
Violence then erupted between Christian anti-Balaka militiamen and Seleka fighters.
The war-torn central African state elected a new president last February.
In 2014, the UN also deployed a peacekeeping mission MINUSCA in the country, which includes over 10,000 troops.
French forces whose mission was to ensure peace and security have reportedly been involved in several child sexual abuse scandals.
Last year, the French court heard four French soldiers suspected of child sexual abuse, said to be committed between 2013 and 2014 in Central African Republic.
In total, 14 French soldiers were implicated in the scandal.
Central African Republic gained its independence from France in 1960.
