This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25286068
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Huge African troop surge for CAR | Huge African troop surge for CAR |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The African Union is to increase significantly the number of troops it plans to send to the Central African Republic to help end communal fighting. | |
| The size of the AU force will rise to 6,000, France said as it moved to boost its own freshly deployed troop contingent to 1,600. | The size of the AU force will rise to 6,000, France said as it moved to boost its own freshly deployed troop contingent to 1,600. |
| At least 394 people have died in three days of fighting in the capital Bangui alone, the Red Cross says. | At least 394 people have died in three days of fighting in the capital Bangui alone, the Red Cross says. |
| The CAR has been in turmoil since the president was ousted in March. | The CAR has been in turmoil since the president was ousted in March. |
| France has been sending in more troops as part of a UN-backed operation to keep peace between the Christian and Muslim communities. | |
| The African Union already has an estimated 2,500 troops in the country and had been set to boost its size by 1,000. But a statement on the French presidency said the AU had decided to extend its force to 6,000. | |
| The French statement came at the end of a two-day summit of African leaders in Paris. It followed the UN vote on Thursday for a greater French and African presence in the CAR. | |
| Some 600 French soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital on Saturday, although the centre of the city was still reported to be in the hands of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition. | Some 600 French soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital on Saturday, although the centre of the city was still reported to be in the hands of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition. |
| Michel Djotodia seized power from President Francois Bozize, with the backing of the Seleka. | Michel Djotodia seized power from President Francois Bozize, with the backing of the Seleka. |
| But the Muslim rebels have been accused of atrocities against Christians and fighting between Muslim and Christian militias has broken out in Bangui and elsewhere. | But the Muslim rebels have been accused of atrocities against Christians and fighting between Muslim and Christian militias has broken out in Bangui and elsewhere. |
| In the open | |
| French troops have arrived in the northern town of Bossangoa to relieve African peacekeepers, who are struggling to help nearly 1,000 displaced civilians who fled to the camp after inter-religious fighting. | |
| These civilians, mostly women and children, are crammed together on the dusty ground and had no shelter when it rained on Friday night, the BBC's Thomas Fessy reports. | |
| Basic medication is now being distributed but the people can only wait for a lull in the fighting to go fetch food and water outside, he says. | |
| Tens of thousands of Christians have sought refuge around a church in the town while around 7,000 Muslims are stranded at a school located on the other side of the town. | |
| Not a soul was moving on the main thoroughfare between the two locations on Saturday, our correspondent says. | |
| Violence has taken a dangerous religious turn, he adds. |