UN Security Council diplomats to visit CAR, Burundi

United Nations: UN Security Council envoys will travel to the Central African Republic next week to take stock of international efforts to restore stability, France`s UN ambassador said Tuesday.

The 15 ambassadors will also visit Burundi ahead of elections and discuss the threat posed by Boko Haram at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The four-day trip is the centerpiece of France`s month-long presidency of the Security Council, which authorized a UN peacekeeping mission for CAR that was launched six months ago.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the visit to the Central African Republic comes at a "key moment" as the country heads toward elections intended to help advance efforts to restore stability.

Presidential and legislative elections are due in July and August, capping CAR`s long road to recovery after the violence that was unleashed following a March 2013 coup.

The council will also visit Burundi which has been rife with tensions ahead of a presidential election in June.

In the Ethiopian capital, the ambassadors will discuss ways to support, including through UN financial means, the 7,500-strong force set up to fight Boko Haram insurgents from Nigeria.