{The United States will help transport African Union peacekeeping troops to the Central African Republic as part of a French-led intervention to restore security following an outbreak of inter-religious violence in the country.}
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who was in Qatar on a tour of the Middle East, ordered that forces be escorted from Burundi to the Central African Republic in coordination with France, his spokesman said in a statement.
The Pentagon will make two C-17 planes available to transport roughly 850 Burundian soldiers, a US defense official said on condition of anonymity, adding that there were hopes the operation would begin Tuesday.
The mission to airlift the troops and equipment should be completed in a matter of days, the official said.
Hagel took the decision after conferring by phone on Sunday with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who requested “limited” US military assistance to support the international effort, Defense Department spokesman Carl Woog said.
“In the near term, France has requested airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic,” Woog said
France 24
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