Central African Republic defense minister sacked amid growing violence

Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled a conflict that broke out after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.

Although unrest has since subsided, fighting has spiked this year and the United Nations warned this month that ethnic fighting could descend again into a much larger conflict if combatants are not disarmed.

National security forces are too weak to tackle armed groups and counter the spillover from conflicts in neighboring countries, said the United Nations.

In a sign of the deteriorating security situation, six Red Cross volunteers were killed in an attack on a health center in southeastern Central African Republic on Aug. 3, the aid organisation said last month.

Reuters

{loadposition myposition2}