The Central African Republic's foreign minister has rejected international warnings that the country could be headed for genocide.
According to AFP, foreign minister Leonie Banga Bothy told local radio on Saturday:
According to AFP, foreign minister Leonie Banga Bothy told local radio on Saturday:
"We can't speak of a genocide of an ethnic or social group,"
"Such statements on an international level can lead people to believe there is an imminent danger and to arm themselves to prepare for this genocide. And that is not what we want."
"The security situation is worrying in certain regions of our country and in several areas of the capital. But a lot of bold and positive measures have been taken. And we hope that in the face of some of the results, we will be able to stabilise the situation in our country."
"To speak of pre-genocide or of genocide, I think this will have perverse effects on the population, which has already suffered a great deal and which at the moment does not need any additional paranoia."