{{European peace-keeping forces in the Central African Republic will increase sharply after first Paris and then Brussels announced on Friday that they would boost troops to the strife-torn country.}}<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, France announced it would deploy 400 more soldiers and gendarmes, bringing its total forces in its former colony to 2,000.<\/p>\n
The French decision followed a meeting of the national Defence Council at the Elys\u00e9e Palace. French forces are working alongside nearly 6,000 African peacekeepers in an attempt to halt sectarian violence in CAR.<\/p>\n
In the announcement, France had urged other countries to show “increased solidarity” and had called on the European Union to accelerate its deployment of a promised 500 peace-keepers in the country.<\/p>\n
Later on Friday, the EU responded. Catherine Ashton, its head of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU would send around 1,000 troops to CAR to help restore order.<\/p>\n
“We have more than 500 troops [already promised],” Ashton said, adding that the EU was “looking at double that number”.<\/p>\n
It was not clear whether that number included the extra French forces. Ashton has in recent weeks avoided specifying which countries would be contributing troops.<\/p>\n
Major EU powers such as Britain and Germany have refused to commit soldiers, and diplomats say efforts are focusing on smaller countries.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic sources said on Friday that besides France, five other EU countries had proposed a “substantial” contribution to the mission.<\/p>\n
Poland could provide 140 soldiers while Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Portugal could each offer 30 to 50, the sources said.<\/p>\n
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