Two Chadian soldiers, three Muslim civilians and two Christian militiamen were killed in another weekend of violence in Bangui but France's top commander on Monday denied claims of ethnic cleansing.
Paris sent troops to the Central African Republic in December amid talk of an impending genocide as sectarian unrest escalated in the aftermath of a coup.
A campaign of abuses by mainly Muslim ex-rebels led to revenge killings by Christian militias, in violence that 8,000 French and African troops have failed to stem nearly three months on.
But General Francisco Soriano, who heads France's "Sangaris" military operation, denied claims by the head of the UN's refugee agency and other aid groups that ethnic cleansing was taking place.
"There is no ethnic cleansing in the country. Some sections, especially Muslims, have been subjected to intense pressure from certain armed militias," he told Europe 1 radio.
The Muslim minority has been blamed by many Christians for the violence that followed the March 2013 coup which saw Michel Djotodia become the country's first Muslim leader.
His regional peers forced him to step down in January and sent in peacekeepers to support the French effort but Christian-dominated vigilantes known as anti-balaka are proving difficult to rein in.
Fighting broke out at the weekend between soldiers from the 6,000-strong MISCA and the anti-balaka. The head of the African Union force, Martin Tumenta, said two Chadian forces and two anti-balaka were killed on Sunday.
The violence has displaced nearly a quarter of Central Africa's 4.6 million inhabitants and sparked a massive humanitarian crisis.
Relief organisations have warned that the flight of Muslims -- who controlled a large share of trade and farming -- risked exacerbating a major food crisis in what was already one of the world's poorest countries before the conflict.
But while some Muslims "are scared and some have been displaced, others have remained and are protected by other communities," Soriano said.
- Poison arrows and machetes -
In Bangui's northern PK-12 neighbourhood, the French have set up a permanent checkpoint to separate Muslims from Christians who have vowed to push them over the border.
Around 80 French troops rotate to man the position 24/7 and protect what they call a "Muslim enclave".
"At the moment, no Muslim is venturing across. Nor is any Christian... Here we're keeping people safe, away from one another," said a French captain who gave his name as Fabien.
The former colonial power is caught in the middle, with each side accusing France of supporting the other.
"The situation is bad, we can't even leave the neighbourhood anymore," said Gambo Liman, a 41-year-old Muslim puffing on a water pipe with a group of men in front of the nearby mosque.
"We want Sangaris to leave," said Liman, who lost three of his sons during the violence. The men around him are holding poison arrows and machetes.
Three Muslim civilians were killed Saturday by an angry mob near the airport, now home to tens of thousands of displaced people crammed in a sprawling improvised camp.
"We have a problem. There are weapons, ammunition, grenades circulating in the camp," said Tumenta, the MISCA chief. "The priority is to clean up the camp as soon as possible."
On the Christian side of the PK-12 checkpoint, Hermann Labe waits beside his moto-taxi and can see the Muslims in the distance.
"This isn't their country, they have to leave. We don't want to hear 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greatest) in Central Africa," he said.
Two Chadian soldiers, three Muslim civilians and two Christian militiamen were killed in another weekend of violence in Bangui but France’s top commander on Monday denied claims of ethnic cleansing.
Paris sent troops to the Central African Republic in December amid talk of an impending genocide as sectarian unrest escalated in the aftermath of a coup.
A campaign of abuses by mainly Muslim ex-rebels led to revenge killings by Christian militias, in violence that 8,000 French and African troops have failed to stem nearly three months on.
But General Francisco Soriano, who heads France’s “Sangaris” military operation, denied claims by the head of the UN’s refugee agency and other aid groups that ethnic cleansing was taking place.
“There is no ethnic cleansing in the country. Some sections, especially Muslims, have been subjected to intense pressure from certain armed militias,” he told Europe 1 radio.
The Muslim minority has been blamed by many Christians for the violence that followed the March 2013 coup which saw Michel Djotodia become the country’s first Muslim leader.
His regional peers forced him to step down in January and sent in peacekeepers to support the French effort but Christian-dominated vigilantes known as anti-balaka are proving difficult to rein in.
Fighting broke out at the weekend between soldiers from the 6,000-strong MISCA and the anti-balaka. The head of the African Union force, Martin Tumenta, said two Chadian forces and two anti-balaka were killed on Sunday.
The violence has displaced nearly a quarter of Central Africa’s 4.6 million inhabitants and sparked a massive humanitarian crisis.
Relief organisations have warned that the flight of Muslims — who controlled a large share of trade and farming — risked exacerbating a major food crisis in what was already one of the world’s poorest countries before the conflict.
But while some Muslims “are scared and some have been displaced, others have remained and are protected by other communities,” Soriano said.
– Poison arrows and machetes –
In Bangui’s northern PK-12 neighbourhood, the French have set up a permanent checkpoint to separate Muslims from Christians who have vowed to push them over the border.
Around 80 French troops rotate to man the position 24/7 and protect what they call a “Muslim enclave”.
“At the moment, no Muslim is venturing across. Nor is any Christian… Here we’re keeping people safe, away from one another,” said a French captain who gave his name as Fabien.
The former colonial power is caught in the middle, with each side accusing France of supporting the other.
“The situation is bad, we can’t even leave the neighbourhood anymore,” said Gambo Liman, a 41-year-old Muslim puffing on a water pipe with a group of men in front of the nearby mosque.
“We want Sangaris to leave,” said Liman, who lost three of his sons during the violence. The men around him are holding poison arrows and machetes.
Three Muslim civilians were killed Saturday by an angry mob near the airport, now home to tens of thousands of displaced people crammed in a sprawling improvised camp.
“We have a problem. There are weapons, ammunition, grenades circulating in the camp,” said Tumenta, the MISCA chief. “The priority is to clean up the camp as soon as possible.”
On the Christian side of the PK-12 checkpoint, Hermann Labe waits beside his moto-taxi and can see the Muslims in the distance.
“This isn’t their country, they have to leave. We don’t want to hear ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greatest) in Central Africa,” he said.
