UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), in a bid to expel armed groups, conducted 1,191 patrols in the last week, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
"The mission also reports that it reinforced its presence in Birao, which is in the Vakaga prefecture, as an early warning measure in response to rumors of violence," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' chief spokesman, citing the mission known as MINUSCA, reported on June 29 that UN peacekeepers routed members of armed groups occupying Ouanda Djalle, allowing displaced residents to return home. Many civilians, deeply impacted by the militants' recent arrival, were forcibly evicted and living in very precarious conditions.
Peacekeepers secured the city, and military operations continued, allowing displaced people to return to their homes, Dujarric said.
Ouanda Djalle is a town in CAR's Vakaga prefecture about 175 km south of Birao.
Haq said the UN secretary-general's special representative for the CAR, Valentine Rugwabiza, on Wednesday donated 50,000 liters of fuel for use in eight health centers to help with fuel shortages in the country. Prime minister and health minister of the CAR attended the handover. ■
