C-130 transport aircraft from Spain will be used to support French army in Central African Republic

Spain to support French Army in Central African Republic

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 08:42 AM

A C-130 transport aircraft from Spain will be used to support French army in Central African Republic.

Spain authorized the participation of the Spanish Air Force with T-10 military transport aircraft (Code name in Spain for C-130) to support the military operation Sangaris of the French Army in Central African Republic (CAR). France is seeking more help from European nations for its effort to restore security in the Central African Republic.

A C-130 military transport aircraft from the Spanish Air Force (Archive image)

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he will ask his European Union counterparts for more aid at a meeting Monday in Brussels.

Spain will support the UN mission in the CAR with a C-130 military transport aircraft (Spanish name T-10) to contribute of logistic transport operation in the region. A military unit will be also deployed for the self-protection of the aircraft. The C-130 will operate from the French military base in Libreville (Gabon) and N'Djamena (Chad). A total of 70 Spanish military personnel are involved for this operation.

Central Africa has spiralled into chaos since a March coup by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize, with deadly violence pitting Muslims against Christians.

Faced with reports of widespread atrocities in its former colony, France on December 5 decided to deploy 1,600 soldiers to prop up an African peacekeeping force already on the ground.

France is pushing its European partners this week to create a fund to pay for overseas military interventions, like the operation France is leading in the Central African Republic. Other European governments, coming out of years of economic troubles, do not approve this new idea.