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CAR conflict: Ex-president 'heads to exile' in Benin | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Former Central African Republic interim President Michel Djotodia is heading to Benin, where it is thought he will go into exile. | |
Mr Djotodia resigned his post on Friday, at a summit aimed at ending the ongoing sectarian violence. | |
"I confirm that Mr Djotodia is arriving in Cotonou," Benin's foreign minister told Agence France Presse. | "I confirm that Mr Djotodia is arriving in Cotonou," Benin's foreign minister told Agence France Presse. |
At least 1,000 people have been killed since violence broke out between Christian and Muslims in December. | |
Mr Djotodia's resignation, and that of his Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye, appear to have failed to quell the violence in the CAR's capital, Bangui. | |
Clashes between rival militias have continued since his departure, and Muslim properties have been looted. | |
The French news agency AFP reports sporadic gunfire, with several people killed, and quotes some residents as saying they saw shocking incidents of cannibalism. | |
Spiralling into violence | |
Michel Djotodia, CAR's first Muslim leader, seized power last year. | |
But although he officially disbanded the Seleka rebels who enabled him to take the presidency, he has proved unable to keep them in check. | |
Their actions prompted Christians to form vigilante groups, sparking a deadly cycle of revenge attacks. | |
Since he seized power, 20% of the population have fled fighting between Christian and Muslim militias. | |
The African Union now has some 4,000 peacekeepers in the country and France has deployed 1,600 troops to try to restore peace. | |
Following Mr Djotodia's resignation announcement, thousands of people took to the streets in Bangui, most of them Christians who were celebrating the news. | |
Muslims largely stayed at home, the BBC's Paul Wood reports from Bangui. | |
Many Christians now want to go back to the way things were with their Muslim neighbours, our correspondent says. | |
Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration has begun airlifting thousands of foreigners out of the country. | |
The first flight evacuated some 800 Chadians, according to AFP. | |
The UN has warned of an impending humanitarian disaster in the country. |