UN extends Central African Republic peacekeeping mission

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has extended the nearly 17,500-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in the troubled Central African Republican for a year, with Russia, China and Gabon abstaining. The French-drafted resolution maintains the robust mandate of the mission, which foceses on protecting civilians and encourages President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his government to promote lasting peace and stability through a reinvigorated political and peace process. The vote was 12-0 with the three abstentions. The mineral-rich but impoverished Central African Republic has faced deadly intercommunal fighting since 2013. A peace deal between the government and 14 rebel groups was signed in February 2019, but violence erupted afterward.