Tensions remain in Central Africa: UN official

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The overall situation in Central Africa remains tense politically and difficult economically with continued attacks by armed groups against civilians, a UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Those difficult situation requires concerted national, regional and international actions to prevent a further degradation in the region, said Francois Lounceny Fall, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Central Africa sub-region.

In Chad, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo, serious economic difficulties combined with political and social tensions between the respective governments and the oppositions remain a cause for concern, he told the Security Council.

In Cameroon, half of the country's regions are affected by either the Boko Haram terrorist group, the spillover of the crisis in the Central African Republic, or the English-speaking separatist movement.

He stressed the need to redouble prevention efforts to ensure that prevailing tensions do not deteriorate in the context of the 2018 elections in Cameroon, with the situation in English-speaking regions of the country of particular concern.

The situation in the Central African Republic is characterized by continuing attacks and serious abuses by armed groups, including the killing of UN peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers, said Fall.

He expressed concern over the activities of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group operating in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

With regard to the LRA, he stressed the need to reconfigure the African Union task force and to increase support for the training of Central African Republic soldiers. Enditem