UN chief urges C. Africa to speed-up peace deal implementation

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the signatories of a peace accord in the Central African Republic (CAR) to "expedite its implementation," a day after the formation of a new government that includes representatives of armed groups.

Guterres "urges all signatories of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation to adhere to its agreed principles, especially the rejection of violence and respect for human rights and human dignity," a statement said.

The new government of Central Africa, appointed by presidential decree on Friday, includes ministers from armed groups that signed last month's peace deal.

Under the provisions of a peace accord signed in the CAR capital Bangui on February 6, President Faustin-Archange Touadera agreed to form an "inclusive" government.

The resource-rich country has been racked since 2013 by a war which has displaced around a quarter of its 4.5 million population.

The peace deal, the eighth since 2012 in the conflict-wracked, impoverished state, brought together the CAR government and 14 armed groups who control most of the country.

CAR has been struggling to recover from the bloodletting that erupted when former president Francois Bozize was overthrown in 2013 by the Seleka rebels.

The president himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups.

Armed groups, typically claiming to defend an ethnic or religious group, control about 80 percent of the CAR, often fighting over access to the country's mineral wealth.

Source(s): AFP