BRUSSELS: European Union ministers agreed Monday to send hundreds of troops to the Central African Republic in a rare joint military mission aimed at ending months of sectarian violence.

An EU statement said foreign ministers gave “political approval” to a military operation expected to involve the rapid deployment of a force numbering anywhere between 400 and 1,000 to help back French and African soldiers already on the ground in the impoverished nation.

“The operation will contribute, by lending temporary support, for a period of up to six months, to the establishment of a secure environment in the region of Bangui (the capital), in order to hand over to the African Union,” the statement said.

Also in Brussels, international donors pledged $496 million (365 million euros) in aid to the country this year, where almost one million people, or 20 percent of the population, have been displaced by fighting.

“We face a political and humanitarian emergency in the Central African Republic,” said Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. “We clearly need to do something.”

As ministers discussed what will be the EU’s first major ground operation in six years, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned the country was in “a crisis of epic proportions” and urged the world “to pull CAR back from the brink of further atrocities.”

The Central African Republic's new president-elect, Bangui mayor Catherine Samba-Panza, on Monday urged Christian and Muslim militias to lay down their arms to put an end to months of sectarian bloodshed.

"Show your support for my nomination by giving the strong signal of laying down your weapons" to "stop the suffering of the people," Samba-Panza said in a speech to lawmakers after she was elected interim president in a second-round vote by the transitional parliament.

Britain, like Germany, has offered logistical support for the French operation but has made repeatedly clear it would not send troops.

New German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised France for dispatching 1,600 troops, saying: “We Europeans and neighbors should be grateful that France worked for avoiding worse incidents so far.”

Ireland’s Eamon Gilmore said his country favored “an intervention with UN support.”

The EU military mission is to deploy in and around the capital, Bangui, where at least 1,000 people died last month alone in clashes between Muslim and Christian militia.

The EU “bridging force,” which will later hand over to an African Union or UN peacekeeping force, is likely to be asked to protect the airport, where some 120,000 people have fled in fear of inter-communal violence.

Once a UN mandate has been obtained for the mission, EU planners hope to get troops on the ground by late February, diplomats said.