Chuck Hagel, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, has ordered for American forces "to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic," following a request from France, his spokesman said in a statement. France deployed 1,600 troops to the war ravaged nation last week, and began to remove weapons on Monday.
The U.N. Security Council also unanimously approved the deployment of African and French troops, and also voted to impose an arms embargo on the nation last week.
The France-led Security Council resolution "authorized an African Union-led peacekeeping force to intervene with the support of French forces to protect civilians, restore humanitarian access and stabilize the country," CNN reported.
"In the near term, France has requested airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic," Hagel said.
"The United States is joining the international community in this effort because of our belief that immediate action is required to avert a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the Central African Republic, and because of our interest in peace and security in the region."
Two US military C-17 aircraft will fly about 850 troops from Burundi into the CAR within the next 24 hours, according to reports.
"There was a brief exchange of gunfire between armed men and French forces near the airport in the capital Bangui, as the disarmament began. But officials said most of the militiamen had been cleared by Monday night," BBC reported.
President Barack Obama called on the government to join leaders on both sides of the conflict in appealing for calm, and to "arrest those who are committing crimes," he said in an audio message, according to news reports.
The country has been in chaos "since rebel leader Michel Djotodia ousted President Francois Bozize in March and installed himself as the first Muslim leader in the Christian-majority country. The rebel alliance has now been officially disbanded but its fighters are accused of atrocities against Christians," according to news reports.
394 people were killed in three days of fighting in Bangui, the capital, and many of the victims are believed to have been children, according to the Red Cross.
The French army said it has restored some stability by Monday night.
"There are no longer armed groups patrolling the city. Very quickly we realized that these groups had left their positions in their great majority," said Col. Gilles Jaron, the military spokesman.
France said that the African Union would increase the size of its existing force of 2,500 peacekeepers to 6,000, in a statement last Saturday.
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