República Centro-Africana: O caos

The Central African Republic (CAR) is descending into "complete chaos", the UN deputy secretary general has warned, calling for urgent action. Jan Eliasson urged the Security Council to strengthen the African Union-led force in the country, and to turn it into a UN peacekeeping operation. The CAR has been in turmoil since rebels seized power in March, with warnings of a possible genocide. France has said it would contribute about 1,000 troops to the force. Senior UN and French officials have warned that a cycle of violence between the Muslim minority, now in power, and the Christian majority could become a genocide. It is not known how many people have been killed in the conflict this year because it is too dangerous to access the rural areas where most killings occur, a UN spokeswoman told the BBC. However, she said that in the Bossangoa area alone, one of the worst-hit areas about 300km (185 miles) north of the capital, Bangui, several hundred people had been killed in the first two weeks of September. Some 460,000 people - 10% of the population of 4.6 million - have fled their homes, while more than a million need food aid, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands have sought refuge at the Catholic mission in Bossangoa. The priest in charge, Frederic Tonfio, told the BBC: "The tension here is palpable. People are absolutely terrified." 'Regional threat' Mr Eliasson said there had been an surge in sexual violence, torture, summary executions and sectarian violence. "The CAR is becoming a breeding ground for extremists and armed groups in a region that is already suffering from conflict and instability," he said. "If this situation is left to fester, it may develop into a religious and ethnic conflict with long-standing consequences, even a civil war that could spread into neighbouring countries." Some of CAR's neighbours such as South Sudan, the Sudanese region of Darfur, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo are trying to emerge from years of conflict and remain extremely unstable. BBC