A French official says European Union (EU) forces will be deployed to the Central African Republic (CAR) from next month.

"In March, in a few weeks, there will be in the CAR several hundred troops coming from several countries of the European Union," said France's European affairs minister Thierry Repentin on Sunday.

The remarks came two days after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton announced plans by the 28-nation bloc to send 1,000 troops to the former French colony.

The CAR spiraled into chaos in March 2013, when Christian militias launched coordinated attacks on the mostly Muslim Seleka group, who overthrew former President Francois Bozize and brought Michel Djotodia to power.

Both Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye resigned last month after coming under intense pressure over the government’s failure to stem the deadly violence in the African country.

France invaded the CAR in December 2013, after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the country.

Paris has deployed 1,600 troops to the country, but the UN-backed intervention force, which includes over 4,000 African Union peacekeepers, is struggling to restore security in the Central African Republic.

According to reports, at least 1,000 people were killed in the country’s capital Bangui in December last year.