“DISCREET” negotiations were under way late on Thursday in the Central African Republic capital Bangui between the government and army mutineers who staged an abortive coup, in a bid to avert a “bloodbath”, a well-placed source said. “They want to see that the problem created by the mutineers does not end in a bloodbath,” said the source. Observers said the negotiations would explain why loyalist troops, backed by soldiers from Libya and rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo, have yet to launch a threatened all-out assault on positions held by the mutineers. – AFP
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