BANGUI: French troops were out in force on the streets of the Central African Republic’s capital yesterday as they sought to clamp down after days of violence.
Heavy patrols of armoured vehicles and French soldiers could be seen in Bangui, where more than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed in three weeks of unrest.
The Red Cross has said it recovered some 100 bodies in Bangui, including 20 in a mass grave, amid increased fighting this week between Christians and Muslims.
French and African troops are struggling to contain the violence, which has wracked the majority Christian country since a March coup by the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels who installed Michel Djotodia as president.
Automatic gunfire rattled central Bangui and tracer fire marked the sky overnight yesterday, and shots could be heard from the presidential palace and a nearby military camp.
Presidential spokesman Guy-Simplice Kodegue said the shooting was the result of a misunderstanding between Seleka fighters and troops from the African MISCA force.
A source with MISCA said two Congolese police had been killed in the shooting but provided no further details.
Two Chadian citizens were also wounded by stray gunfire at their nearby embassy, a diplomatic source said.
Confusion reigned in the capital, where heavy fighting sparked panic on Wednesday and sent thousands fleeing for shelter at the airport, the base for French and African forces.
“I’m not even trying to understand what’s happening,” a shopkeeper in central Bangui said. “The shooting starts, I hide. The shooting stops, I come out. Then it starts again and I hide again.”
Some 600 French troops were deployed in two flashpoint neighbourhoods on Thursday in a bid to prevent further violence. Much of the unrest has been blamed on Christian militias carrying out revenge attacks on Muslims after months of abuses by ex-Seleka rebels.
AFP
