French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said France will give the Central African Republic, a former restive colony, an aid of $27.4m and weapons.
Mr. Le Drian said part of the aid was for payment of salaries, pension arrears, to develop regions near neighbor Cameroon affected by massive population displacements, and build bridges to open access to parts of the country.
He also announced that France would “soon deliver arms” to Bangui – specifically one thousand, four hundred assault rifles for the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) established after independence in 1960.
“We are doing this within the strict, respectful, and transparent framework of the United Nations, in total transparency concerning the origin, the routing, and the delivery” of the arms, said Le Drian.
CAR Foreign Minister Charles Armel Doubane said on Friday it “was time that France decided to make these assault rifles available to FACA within the strict framework of international commitments.”`