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     Hollande: French Troops Will Leave Central African Republic in October

   by Reuters

   France will end a three-year military peacekeeping operation in Central
   African Republic in October, Francois Hollande has said, although
   security remains volatile.

   The operation was launched in December 2013 to try to end a cycle of
   tit for tat killing that began when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters
   toppled the then-president, prompting reprisals by Christian
   anti-Balaka militias.

   The defense ministry says Operation Sangaris currently commands around
   350 troops in CAR, down from a peak of 2,000, and supports a
   12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force.

   Hollande announced the operation's end date late on Wednesday. French
   Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had announced in January the
   operation would end this year.

   Clashes have continued since President Faustin-Archange Tauadera took
   power in March in an election intended to draw a line under
   intercommunal and interreligious violence.

   "Next October Jean-Yves Le Drian ... will go to Central African
   Republic to officially announce the end of operation Sangaris," said
   Hollande in a speech in Paris.

   "I want to state clearly that deciding to intervene is a great
   responsibility, but knowing when to end an operation is also a major
   concern," the president added.

   "You can't do it too fast, too early, or too late," he said.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/hollande-french-troops-will-leave-central-african-republic-in-october/3418164.html