DOHA, Qatar — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday ordered the US military to transport African troops from Burundi into the Central African Republic to help quell the latest upsurge in violence there.
Hagel approved the order after speaking with Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian of France from Afghanistan, where he was visiting US troops. Le Drian asked the United States to help get African troops quickly into the country to prevent the violence from spreading, said Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog.
There are more than 1,000 French troops in the Central African Republic, where Christian armed fighters launched an attack on the capital last week that killed about 400 people. The fighters oppose the Muslim former rebels in charge of the former French colony.
Woog said Hagel directed the US Africa Command to begin transporting forces in coordination with France because the United States believes immediate action is needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Woog also said the Pentagon will be evaluating what other US resources might be available if additional requests for assistance come in.
The transport flights are expected to begin in a day or two, according to a senior defense official who was not authorized to speak by name about the planning and thus requested anonymity.