ABOUT 160 MPs and other politicians have begun meeting on Monday to pave the way for a national dialogue to end years of instability in the Central African Republic (CAR), the UN mission in Bangui said. The head of the conflict resolution body of the Organisation of African Union is attending the two days of talks, sponsored by the United Nations, said Lamine Cisse, representative of the UN secretary general in the troubled central African state. Cisse stressed “the need for political dialogue as a credible strategy for resolving the crisis in the CAR.” Shaken by three military mutinies in 1996 and 1997, the CAR plunged back into a bloody cycle of violence in 2001, following an attempted coup against President Ange-Felix Patasse. – AFP