/ 4 February 2014

CAR: Scores die, houses torched in new clashes

Car: Scores Die, Houses Torched In New Clashes

The killings in the Central African Republic took place in the area around the town of Boda when Christians attacked Muslims after Seleka fighters passed through, said Elie Mbailao, police commissioner of Mbaiki which is about 100km from the area.

"The mayor [of Boda] has told me that there were more than 70 dead and over 30 houses burned," Mbailao said of violence that began late last week.

He said the clashes around the town, about 100km west of Bangui, involved residents armed with guns and machetes, scenes that have been played out across much of the former French colony over much of the last year.

Abuses by Seleka fighters once they came to power led to mainly Christian self-defence militia springing up.

The scale of the violence underscores the challenge facing French and African peacekeepers trying to restore order to a country that has been torn apart by inter-communal violence since mainly Muslim rebels seized power in March. 

The leader of the rebel force, known as Seleka, stepped down as president last month, having come under intense international criticism for failing to stem waves of killings that killed hundreds and displaced about one million people, about a quarter of the country's population.

But their retreat from power and the deployment of thousands of international troops has not halted the violence.

An attempt to oust Seleka from power in December sparked mass killings and cycles of retaliations that spiralled out of control and prompted UN warnings that the country was on brink of genocide.

There are some 1 600 French and about 5 000 African troops deployed in the country but peacekeepers have focused on restoring order to Bangui and struggled to make their presence felt to the north. – Reuters