Central African Republic clashes: 'Thousands flee villages'

Some 30,000 people have fled to Bossangoa in north-west
CAR
It said its workers had seen appalling scenes of murder in a
wave of attacks.
Entire villages had been burnt to the ground and people
have been treated for gunshot and machete wounds, MSF
said.
The mineral-rich but underdeveloped country has been in a
state of chaos since rebels seized power in March.
A rebel alliance known as Seleka, commanded by Michel
Djotodia who is now president, ousted Francois Bozize
from office.
Last month, Mr Djotodia formally disbanded the rebels
and integrated many fighters into the national army.

However, rebels linked to Seleka have continued to launch
attacks on scores of villages, prompting the emergence of
local civilian protection groups.
'Horrified'
MSF said it was one of the few organisations working in
the conflict-affected areas of the north-west of the country.
"MSF teams are horrified by what they're witnessing,
including the execution of a healthcare worker, multiple
violent attacks on humanitarian staff, burned villages, and
appalling scenes of murder," MSF surgeon Erna
Rijinierse said in a statement.
Homes and villages have been burnt in the fighting
between rebels and vigilantes
About 28,000 have sought shelter Bossangoa's Catholic
Mission
Last month MSF teams treated more than 60 people,
including children, in the town Bossangoa, 250km (155
miles) north-west of the capital, Bangui, most of them with
gunshot and machete wounds,
The medical charity says more than 30,000 people in
Bossangoa have been displaced by the fighting between
rebels and the vigilante groups.
There were also numerous accounts of attacks characterised
by religious divisions, it said.
Most of the displaced in Bossangoa are sheltering in the
town's Catholic Mission, far exceeding its capacity, about
1,200 people are in a hospital, "effectively turning half of
the building into a makeshift camp", MSF says.
A further 1,000 are seeking shelter next to an airstrip and
100 others have gathered in a school, the charity says.
They are living in
precarious conditions -
vulnerable to malaria,
the number one killer
in CAR, it adds.
Last week the UN
Security Council
approved a resolution
paving the way for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping
force in the country.
On Sunday, France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said
more French troops would be sent to CAR in an effort to
end the chaos.
The former colonial power already has about 400 troops
based at the airport in Bangui.
The African Union is in the process of deploying a 3-600-
strong peacekeeping mission to the country - incorporating
a regional force already on the ground.
CAR has huge deposits of precious minerals but has been
plagued by chronic instability since independence in 1960.
Source:BBC
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