African securityFirst French casualties in the Central African Republic highlight mission’s difficulties

Last week, less than a week after their arrival, two French soldiers were killed in the Central African Republic (CAR). The incident highlights the difficulty French troops face in an unstable country teetering on the brink of total chaos, and where international observers are worried about possible genocide.

French president François Hollande released a statement, saying that “The president expresses his profound respect for the sacrifice of these two soldiers and renews his full confidence in the French forces committed – alongside African forces – to restoring security in the Central African Republic, to protecting the people and guaranteeing access to humanitarian aid.”

The Christian Science Monitor reports that nearly 400 people were killed in and around Bangui before the arrival of French forces. . The Central African Republic, a former French colony, has been in a state of anarchy since March 2013, when Muslim rebel group Seleka ousted President François Bozizé and replaced him with former Seleka leader, Michael Djotodia. Djotodia disbanded Seleka and incorporate its warlords into the country’s army, but many rebels refused to disarm and continued to attack the military and, increasingly, Christian civilians. TheMonitor notesthat armed militia groups roam through towns and villages killing and burning homes. Christian militias, known as anti-balaka, or anti-machete groups, have organized in response to the Seleka taking over the government and are now attacking Muslim towns and villages.

“The resulting tit-for-tat spiral of violence [between Muslims and Christians] is creating the foundation of a religious conflict that will be very difficult to stop,” Lawrence Wohlers, the former U.S. ambassador to CAR, told Foreign Policy. “Although it is the Christian population that has suffered the most until now, the Muslim population is a distinct minority and may suffer far more as Seleka’s power declines.”

International observers fear that current violence in CAR may lead to genocide, reminiscent of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. Jan Eliasson, deputy secretary general for the United Nations, during a briefing with the Security Council, called the situation in CAR, “a vicious cycle that could very easily turn into mass atrocities. Let no one say later that the world was not warned,” he went on to tell reporters. “It is not as much a problem of early warning — we have had this warning for a long time,” Eliasson said. “The question now is timely response.”

The Financial Times reports thatthe early French casualties underscore “the difficulty facing French forces.” Only seven French soldiers have been killed to date in Mali, since France deployed troops there in January to stop Islamist militants from overtaking the country.

The conflict in CAR is France’s second military intervention in Africa within a year, and it motivated by the fear that a power vacuum in CAR would attract Islamist militants to create a base in the country, destabilizing neighboring nations. The United States has agreed to intervene in the conflict by providing “limited” military assistance, mainly in the form of transporting African Union troops to CAR. The African union has pledged 3,500 troops.

FT reports that President Barack Obama told the CAR government in a message broadcast on a regional radio station to “join” the voices praying for peace and “to arrest those who are committing crimes.”