CAR fighting: 100 dead in Bangui as UN votes for French force

More than 100 people are confirmed dead in fierce fighting on Thursday in the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), Bangui.

The French army has deployed 250 troops in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui in an effort to restore security in the city following a deadly gunfight on Thursday.

“At this stage 250 French soldiers have been deployed in Bangui to secure and patrol,” ministry spokesman Gilles Jarron told a news briefing.

Heavy gunfire erupted across several districts of Bangui on Thursday morning, as Christian militias clashed with the mostly Muslim former rebels who control the city.

At least 23 people were killed and 64 others wounded in the fighting, according to a Reuters witness.

The automatic gunfire started around 5:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) in the PK-12 area in the north of Bangui, and then spread to other neighbourhoods not far from the city centre.

Authorities have said the gunfire was part of a coordinated attack by Christian militia groups on two different neighbourhoods in the north and south of Bangui, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Bangui Alexander Turnbull reported.

“A general from the army told us the situation was now under control, that his units have managed to push back the assailants,” he said.

The incidents came ahead of a UN Security Council vote Thursday on a resolution put forward by France that would authorise the deployment of an African Union-led force in the poor, landlocked country for a year in order to protect civilians and restore security and public order.

It also would permit French forces, for a temporary period, “to take all necessary measures” to support the African Union-led force known as MISCA (International Support Mission to the Central African Republic), whose troop numbers are expected to rise from about 2,500 to 3,500.

France’s UN Ambassador Gerard Araud has said he expects the council to approve the resolution.

France promised last week to send 1,000 troops to the Central African Republic following a warning from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that the former French colony “is on the verge of genocide”. The Defense Ministry has said about 600 troops are already in the country.

The proposed resolution welcomes Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s intention to prepare for the possible transformation of MISCA into a UN peacekeeping operation. It asks the UN chief to provide recommendations for the possible transformation within three months.

The draft resolution would also impose an arms embargo on the Central African Republic for a year and order all countries to ban the sale or transfer of arms, ammunition, military equipment, spare parts and technical assistance and training.

‘Horrible and heinous’

The country’s descent into chaos started late last year when rebel groups joined forces to form the coalition known as Seleka. In March, the rebels overthrew the president and installed their own leader.

But President Michel Djotodia now exerts little control over the renegade fighters in the provinces, most of whom are Muslim and are accused of committing atrocities including murder, rape and forcibly recruiting child soldiers.

In response, members of the country’s majority Christian population have formed their own militia forces, known as anti-balaka, that have been responsible for attacks on Muslims.

A group of Christian vigilantes were blamed this week for the slaughter of 12 Muslim herders, who were hacked to death with machetes in an attack in the town of Boali, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the capital, on Monday.

"Among the victims were children and a disembowelled pregnant woman," a military source told AFP, adding that at least ten other children were hospitalised in Bangui with deep gashes.

Speaking to the FRANCE 24 on Wednesday, CAR Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye condemned the Boali massacre as "horrible and heinous".

"The government condemns all violence," he said, adding that "in recent days, there had been a surge in such unrest, particularly in the provinces".

The prime minister said that around 10,000 international troops were needed to bring stability to the country.

His comments followed a warning from the International Crisis Group think tank on Monday, which warned that the situation on the ground is deteriorating at a much faster pace than the international response is mobilising. It added that the Central African Republic is staring “into an abyss of potentially appalling proportions”.

The crisis group supported AU and French military action and called for immediate inter-religious dialogue and urgent reconstruction projects.