Aid group warns of Central African Republic 'catastrophe' Aid group warns of Central African Republic 'catastrophe' as peace talks set to begin in Sudan

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The leader of an international aid group says Central African Republic "is steering toward a catastrophe" unless a new round of peace talks in Sudan this week succeed.

Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council's secretary general, says repeated cycles of violence in one of the world's poorest nations "have pushed people*s resistance to breaking point."

Egeland said Wednesday in a statement that a majority of Central African Republic's 2.9 million people "urgently need humanitarian support."

The country has faced interreligious and intercommunal fighting since 2013, and violence has intensified and spread in recent months.

Talks involving the parties in the country's conflict are scheduled to begin in Khartoum on Thursday.