Stephen O'Brien, the U.N. Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, said on Aug. 7 that the situation in the Central African Republic had deteriorated to the point that "the early warning signs of genocide" were there. That a U.N. official is using the "g" word to describe the violence in the country is significant, given that fears of genocide has provoked intervention before, last in 2013. O'Brien called for a bolstering of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which currently comprises around 12,500 peacekeepers. He also noted that in Bangassou, in the country's south, some 2,000 Muslim Central Africans that had taken refuge at a church more than three months ago are at risk of being massacred by Christian militants who have surrounded them.