Central African PM urges immediate deployment of French troops -...

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Central African Republic's Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye urged the immediate deployment of French troops and an African peacekeeping force (MISCA) following the approval of a UN resolution on Thursday.

Tiangaye told Reuters that heavy fighting in Bangui on Thursday, which he said left dozens dead and hundreds injured, was an organised attempt by supporters of former president Francois Bozize to topple the transitional government.

At least 105 people have been killed during fighting in Central African Republic's capital, according to a Reuters witness and an aid worker.

A Reuters correspondent counted 53 bodies at a mosque in Bangui's PK5 neighbourhood. Most of the victims appeared to have been clubbed or hacked to death, the correspondent said.

The UN Security Council had authorized French and African troops in Central African Republic on Thursday to use force to protect civilians, imposed an arms embargo on the country and asked the United Nations to prepare for a possible peacekeeping mission.

In a unanimously adopted resolution the 15-member council also asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish an inquiry into human rights abuses in the landlocked, mineral-rich nation of 4.6 million people, which slipped into chaos after Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March.

The French army deployed 250 troops to the capital of the Central African Republic, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday after clashes broke out between former rebels and militias.
This as, 250 French soldiers have been deployed in Bangui to secure and patrol according to the ministry spokesman Gilles Jarron told a news briefing, adding that the clashes were continuing.

The troops were part of a force of 600 French troops already in the country.

Earlier, a Reuters witness said at least 23 people were killed and 64 others wounded in armed clashes in the capital Bangui.

Gunfire echoed across the capital of the near-anarchic Central African Republic amid reported clashes between the mostly Muslim armed fighters who have controlled the country since March and Christians who support the ousted president.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday that military intervention would unfold swiftly after the U.N. vote, telling BFM-TV that the French deployment would total around 1,200, with 600 troops already in the country.

AP/REUTERS