LARISSA, Greece (AP) — The European Union expects to have more than 800 troops on the ground in the Central African Republic by mid-June, where they will secure parts of the capital before handing over to a U.N. force later this year, the force’s operation commander said Tuesday.

The six-month deployment comes amid mounting concern that existing French and African peacekeepers need more help to secure the near-anarchic country before the U.N. force is deployed in September.