Will EU aid rebuild Central African Republic?

The war-torn Central African Republic plans to rely on the European Union to help rebuild the country as the humanitarian crisis deepens in one of Africa’s poorest nations.

“We will rely on the EU to help us develop this country,” former civil servant turned rebel leader and now President Michel Djotodia said on Sunday in his first press conference since seizing power following a coup a week ago.

Djotodia stressed that Brussels already provides 80 percent of the Central African Republic’s foreign aid.

“When we have been sick, the European Union was at our bedside. It will not abandon us now,” the country’s new chief of state said.

Meanwhile the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen and parts of the capital Bangui still do not have electricity a week after former President Francois Bozize was deposed in a coup led by Sekela rebel leader Djotodia.

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, water services are being restored on a limited basis, schools and shops remain shut down and the looting of humanitarian offices and warehouses, including those of United Nations agencies, has not yet stopped despite a 7 p.m to 6 a.m. curfew.

In addition, the border is closed, which affects delivery of goods and fuel from the landlocked country’s main supply line from Cameroon.

Hospitals with minimal staff are proving urgent care to patients with support from international nongovernmental organizations, which are also providing other critical supplies like medicines, surgical kits or fuel for generators.

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