Bodies burnt in street in Central African Republic

A Christian mob in the Central African Republic capital Bangui has killed and burned two Muslims in the street, in the latest sectarian clash. The gangs told the BBC they would carry on killing Muslims in their area. French and African Union soldiers are struggling to contain sectarian violence that erupted after largely Muslim rebels took over the country.

MPs are due to select a new interim president on Monday, a week after rebel leader Michel Djotodia quit the post.

Mr Djotodia became CAR’s first Muslim ruler after his rebel group Seleka overthrew the government in March last year.

The coup helped plunge CAR into sectarian conflict between the majority Christians and the minority Muslims.

He quit on 11 January having failed to stop the violence.

Although the clashes seemed to die down immediately after he quit, reports emerged later in the week of more violence.

On Friday, aid agencies said at least 22 people were killed in an attack on a convoy evacuating Muslims to neighbouring Cameroon.

In Sunday’s attack, a Christian mob killed two Muslims and set their bodies alight at a roundabout in the capital.

They told the BBC’s Thomas Fessy that they were avenging the murder of a Christian overnight. It is unclear whether the men had any part or were targeted simply for being Muslim.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had taken 25 very seriously injured people to hospital in Bangui.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Geneva, it added that fresh inter-communal violence had flared up in north and north-western areas of the country. Red Cross workers had buried 50 bodies discovered over the past 48 hours in the north-west, it said.

The ICRC expressed concern that much of the population, fearing reprisals, was hiding in the bush with no-one to protect them.

The UN Security Council approved a French troop deployment to CAR late last year as part of a plan to restore order and hold an election by early 2015.

The temporary parliament finalised a list of eight candidates for interim president on Sunday.

Officials said the candidates met stringent criteria, including stipulations they had not been members of a militant group, and that they had never worked for Mr Djotodia or his Seleka rebel group.

The candidates include Bangui mayor Catherine Samba Panza, and two sons of former presidents, Sylvain Patasse and Desire Kolingba.

Source:BBC News

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