New UN special envoy arrives in CAR

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 5:16 AM Posted by Beijing News


A new UN special envoy and head of the UN Support Bureau for Peace in the Central African Republic BONUCA, Sahle-Work Zewde, has arrived in Bangui, a UN source said Wednesday.

"She brings years of experience in conflict prevention and peace initatives by the African Union," said the source, who asked not to be named, after the Ethiopian envoy arrived on Tuesday.

Sahle-Work, 59, was concerned with the peace process in the Central African Republic, which has seen decades of coups and rebel insurgency, as Ethiopia's representative on the AU Peace and Security Council, the source added.

"She has a good understanding of the close partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in conflict resolution and in peacekeeping in Africa," the source said.

Sahle-Work was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to replace Francois Fall of Guinea, who resigned. She will officially take up her duties after meeting officials of the regime headed by President Francois Bozize.

In May last year, one rebel group, the Union of Democratic Forces UFDR signed a peace accord with the government and one of its leaders entered a government that was formed in January.

But the poor, landlocked CAR is still highly unstable, particularly in the northeast, where another rebel force, the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace CPJP, is active, leading to a recent resurgence in clashes.







A boy jumps while playing football in a field near Pretoria. AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba

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