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                      CAR Capital Tense but Calm Thursday

   by Anne Look

   In the Central African Republic, the streets of the capital were calm
   Thursday, one week after intense fighting broke out there, but
   residents say weapons are still circulating and the risk of further
   communal violence remains.
   The capital city of Bangui entered its second day Thursday of what
   residents say has been a "precarious calm" after a week of violence
   between Muslims and Christians that has killed hundreds and displaced
   tens of thousands.
   People have been taking advantage of the lull to bury their dead.
   ''Muslims gathered at a mosque in Bangui to bury those they said had
   been killed in recent days in reprisal attacks since the French
   military began disarming the mainly Muslim ex-rebels.
   Mosques were destroyed, and there have been reports of stonings and
   lynchings of Muslims.
   Government minister Ousmane Mahamat Ousmane says these are civilians
   who have been killed by the anti-balakas, or Christian militias, that
   he said include both armed men and regular citizens.  He says he is
   calling on the people of the CAR to forget this spirit of vendettas and
   settling scores. Most of these people, he says, have been killed by
   their own neighbors.
   Ousmane was a general in the now-disbanded Seleka rebel coalition. That
   coalition, made up of Muslim fighters from the north, seized control of
   the country in March, plunging it into chaos and committing what
   international human rights groups say have been serious abuses against
   civilians since coming to power.
   Christian militiamen opposed to Seleka attacked the capital one week
   ago on December 5.  The vicious fighting that ensued killed more than
   400 people.
   France rushed more troops to the CAR to work alongside a regional
   African force to restore law and order after getting the green light
   from the U.N. Security Council.
   There are now 1,600 French soldiers on the ground. Their immediate
   focus has been forcibly disarming combatants.
   But residents of Bangui say the communal violence that has continued
   since disarmament operations began on Monday is worrying.
   This resident says "what I have seen has been terrible. Seeing people
   kill each other is horrible." He says French troops need to go out and
   patrol and protect civilians otherwise he says he doesn't understand
   why they are there.
   Some Muslims in the city say the French aren't doing enough to disarm
   the Christian militias.
   French authorities acknowledge that they have undertaken a dangerous
   and complex mission but say it was necessary to intervene to keep the
   country from slipping into civil war.
   France plans to hand off the mission in six months to African Union
   troops who are still deploying to the CAR.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/car-capital-tense-but-calm-thursday/1808882.html