Monday, February 1, 2016 - 06:46
France aims to scale back its military presence in Central African Republic by the end of the year, its defense minister said in a French media interview, as Paris continues to count on forthcoming elections to ease tension in the turbulent African country. France currently has around 900 troops in the country. That is down from a 2,000-strong force it deployed after widespread violence broke out in 2013 involving Muslim-led rebels and Christian militias, but is well above a pre-crisis force of 300.
