Gunfire echoes across Central African Republic as France to send more troops

Seleka soldiers race through Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Dec. 5, 2013 as gunfire and mortar rounds erupt in the town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

BANGUI -- Fighting came to the capital of Central African Republic on Thursday, leaving dozens of casualties and posing the biggest threat yet to the new government just as the UN Security Council authorized an intervention force to prevent a bloodbath between Christians and Muslims.

 Thursday's fighting was the most significant attack in the capital since a rebel coalition called Seleka seized power in March. Underscoring the chaos, even the president's and prime minister's homes were looted.

Hours later, the UN Security Council authorized increased military action Thursday by France and African troops to try to end near-anarchy in the highly volatile former French colony.

The council unanimously approved the French-sponsored resolution. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who had warned that the Central African Republic is on "the verge of genocide," and said military intervention would unfold swiftly, telling BFM-TV that the French deployment would total around 1,200, with 600 troops already in place.

At least 16 people were killed and 45 were wounded in Thursday's violence, said Sylvain Groulx of Doctors Without Borders. There could be many more bodies though -- Groulx said the death toll consisted only of bodies taken to two hospitals in Bangui.

People scurried indoors, including some who sought sanctuary inside a church. By afternoon, the streets were empty of all but military vehicles and the four-wheel-drive pickup trucks favoured by the rebel soldiers who in March claimed control of the government.

The fighting was between the mostly Muslim fighters who now control the impoverished nation and Christians who support its ousted president.

Hours after fighting broke out, Central African Republic's president, who was installed by Seleka earlier this year, said the clashes were over.

Inside a Bangui hospital, dozens of people with gunshot wounds lay on the floor or on wooden benches, waiting for hours to see a physician.

Prime Minister Nicholas Tiangaye confirmed his house had been looted, describing the attackers as a group of Seleka who arrived in three four-wheel-drive pickup trucks.

"It's true, my house was attacked and pillaged," he said, adding that his family was evacuated beforehand and were safe.

Babacar Gaye, the UN special representative for the Central African Republic, appealed for calm in a joint statement from the UN, European Union, African Union and France.

Seleka is an unlikely group of allies who united a year ago with the goal of forcing President Francois Bozize from the presidency after a decade in power. After thousands of rebels besieged Bangui in March, Bozize fled and the insurgents installed their leader Michel Djotodia as president.

Djotodia has increasingly sought to distance himself from Seleka which has been blamed for scores of atrocities in Bangui, killing and raping civilians and stealing from aid groups and orphanages. He has even less control in the distant provinces where anger over Seleka human rights abuses fueled the formation of the Christian anti-balaka movement several months ago. Balaka means "machete."

While the anti-balaka fighters include villagers defending their communities against Seleka attacks with artisanal hunting rifles and machetes, the group is believed to be receiving support Bozize allies. The anti-balaka fighters also have been implicated in massacres on Muslim civilian populations, which also have suffered under the Seleka regime and say they are being unfairly blamed for Seleka's wanton destruction.

The death toll has been impossible to estimate in Central African Republic, a lawless and desperately poor country in the heart of Africa where many roads have not been repaved since independence from France in 1960.

The UN Security Council resolution authorizes the deployment of an African Union-led force to Central African Republic for a year to protect civilians and restore security and public order. The AU force is replacing a regional peacekeeping mission whose presence has been mainly limited to the capital and a few northern cities.

The UN resolution also authorizes French forces, for a temporary period, "to take all necessary measures" to support the AU-led force known as MISCA, whose troop numbers are expected to rise from about 2,500 to 3,500.