UN votes to add 900 peacekeepers in Central African Republic

New York -  The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution increasing the UN peacekeeping force in the conflict-torn Central African Republic to a total of 11 650 military personnel.

The addition of 900 soldiers comes as the impoverished Central African Republic, known as CAR, faces rising communal tensions, violence and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.

France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre, who sponsored the resolution, said on Wednesday that the Security Council "cannot afford to take the risk of allowing CAR to relapse into a crisis as tragic as the one in which it was mired between early 2012 and early 2014."

He said that "the council must throw its full weight into halting the spiral of violence" and "recreate positive momentum in that country."