‘EU diplomats consider deploying 1,000 soldiers to CAR’

Diplomats of the European Union are considering whether to deploy up to 1,000 troops to the troubled Central African Republic (CAR), amid warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster, al Jazeera reports.

In an effort to shore up the 1,600-strong French contingent, EU officials proposed the deployment of between 700 and 1,000 troops to the troubled region which has claimed the lives of more than a thousand people in clashes.

EU diplomats will discuss the proposals for the first time on Friday.

The different options for a possible EU military mission were contained in a paper circulated on Wednesday by Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, who was acting on a request by EU leaders last month.

The development follow reports that CAR's president Michel Djotodia was preparing to resign. Djotodia, who deposed Francois Bozize in a coup last March, was due to meet regional leaders in Chad on Thursday.

However, as important players in the country, France wants Djotodia out.

CAR has been plunged into chaos as the country's Christian majority seeks revenge against Muslim rebels, with the fighting between religious groups intensifying in December.

UN officials have told the Security Council that the country is on the brink of a catastrophe, with half the population made homeless since ethnic warfare broke out.

An estimated 100,000 people have sought shelter at a makeshift camp at the airport near the city.

A report in late December by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, reported 600 deaths in Bangui in those attacks, and Feltman put the current total at "750 casualties".