BOZOUM, Central African Republic (AP) — Thousands of international troops dispatched to volatile Central African Republic are there to help keep the country from breaking apart, France’s president said Friday, days after the French parliament voted to prolong the country’s mission in its former colony wracked by violence between Christians and Muslims.

It was the second visit to the capital, Bangui, by French President Francois Hollande since France boosted its troop levels here to 1,600 in December as part of “Operation Sangaris.” Three months later, France has promised another 400 soldiers, and the neighborhood immediately surrounding the airport remains a hotbed of fighting between peacekeepers and the militiamen they are seeking to disarm.