At present Slovakia has no desire to send military personnel to the Central African Republic to take part in peacekeeping operations, according to the Defence Ministry spokesperson Martina Balleková on Tuesday.
The operation, which EU foreign ministers agreed on in Brussels on Monday is expected to last for up to six months and is aimed at supporting African Union peacekeepers around the country's capital city of Bangui. Although Slovakia will not be sending soldiers for this operation, the Slovak Defence Ministry assures that it politically supports the EU mission in the Central African Republic, according to Balleková. The Central African Republic fell into turmoil last year after the largely Muslim Seleka rebel coalition came to power, unleashing a wave of killing and violence which sparked revenge attacks by Christian militant groups.
