Top of the Morning: CAR President to Step Down

Top stories from DAWNS Digest

Reports: CAR President To Step Down Today

The rebel leader who ousted the former president in a rebellion has apparently decided to resign. “Central African Republic’s interim president, Michel Djotodia, is due to step down at a summit of regional leaders on Thursday amid frustration at his failure to quell religious violence in his country, diplomatic and political sources said. ‘It’s finished for him now,’ said a source close to Djotodia, who said he was due to step aside at the summit on Thursday in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. A senior French diplomatic source and political sources in Bangui said Central African leaders led by Chad’s Idriss Déby had run out of patience with Djotodia, who seized power in March as the head of the Seleka rebels.” (Guardian http://bit.ly/1bT3jLW)

It’s Official: France Will Significantly Drop Mali Troop Levels

 This is a fairly precipitous decline. Might they be re-routed to CAR? “President Francois Hollande says France will reduce its troop levels in Mali, where it routed Islamic radicals last year, to 1,600 troops by mid-February. Hollande said Wednesday that a year after the French-led intervention, ‘we now have the situation in hand.’France poured in 5,000 troops at the height of the operation. There are now 2,500 French troops in Mali, along with African forces.” (AP http://yhoo.it/1dWEIL0)