“The Security Council reiterated their demand that the Seleka coalition of armed groups cease all hostilities, withdraw from seized cities, and cease attempts to advance further,” said a statement released by the 15-nation body on Friday.
Central African nations have begun sending reinforcements to Damara, the last major town between the rebels and the capital, to bolster the army against the rebels.
The regional troops are fighting under the banner of the multinational African force FOMAC, which CEEAC launched in 2008 in a bid to stabilise the country.
Northern neighbour Chad, whose President Idriss Deby is an ally of Bozize, has contributed most of the troops to the force, which is due to reach its full strength of 760 by the end of the week.
South Africa has authorised the deployment of 400 soldiers to the country, President Jacob Zuma’s office said Sunday.
The soldiers, whose mandate will run through March 2018, would help with capacity-building of the CAR army, the office said in a statement.
The violence in the country has affected more than 300,000 children, including through recruitment as child soldiers, family separation, sexual violence and forced displacement, UNICEF has said.
CAR, with a population of about five million, has been notoriously unstable since its independence from France in 1960.
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