The United Nations (UN) said it plans to deploy more peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) diamond-mining town of Bangassou to stem a recent wave of violence.

The additional forces are being deployed to “neutralize attackers, protect civilians and facilitate critical humanitarian support to the population,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said.

The Central African Republic has been riven by violence since a coalition of mainly Muslim rebels overthrew President Francois Bozize in 2013. The country was the world’s tenth-biggest diamond producer by value in 2012, according to the US Geological Survey.