Top of the Morning: Peacekeepers Needed in Central African Republic

Top stories from DAWNS Digest

UN to World: CAR Needs a Peacekeeping Intervention

In the meantime, French media is reporting that France will send 800 additional troops. “The U.N.’s deputy secretary-general says a U.N. peacekeeping operation will be needed in the Central African Republic, which is descending into ‘complete chaos’ that may lead to religious and ethnic conflict and even civil war. Jan Eliasson urged the Security Council and the international community on Monday to take decisive action to support the African Union-led peace operation in the country and prepare for its transformation into a U.N. peacekeeping operation.” (FoxNews http://fxn.ws/18CK3VY)

Save the Date: Syria Peace Talks in January

January 22 to be exact, though it’s still unclear who exactly will show up. Saudi Arabia and Iran are unconfirmed. “‘At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield,’ Mr. Ban said. His expectation, he said, was that the antagonists would come to the January meeting, known in diplomatic shorthand as Geneva II, with the intention of creating a transitional government with full executive powers — the objective of an international conference on the Syria conflict held in June 2012, known as Geneva I.” (NYThttp://nyti.ms/18CIMOF)