Prague, April 9 (IANS) The Czech military is preparing to send up to 250 soldiers to the UN mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) as asked by the UN secretary general, Czech chief-of-staff Petr Pavel has said.
During his two-day trip to Prague from April 3 to April 5, Ban Ki-moon asked Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka to send soldiers to the planned UN peacekeeping operation in the CAR.
“I really appreciate the offers of the Czech Republic to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in Mali and asked the prime minister to consider participation in peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic,” Xinhua quoted Ban as saying.
He also said that the UN would cover all costs if the Czech Republic participated in the mission.
The 250 Czech soldiers were originally to be deployed to the MINUSMA mission Mali, but its capacity was filled by troops from other countries. Consequently, the Czech Republic could offer the same soldiers to a mission in the CAR, said Pavel.
