Fifty three people were killed in fighting between peacekeepers and Muslim Seleka rebels in northern Central African Republic hours after the Prime Minister and his Government resigned.

 

The spokesman for the French peacekeeping unit in Central African Republic said this in Bangui on Wednesday.

He said the Seleka fighters refused to follow a call to disarm, and instead attacked French and African soldiers in Batangfo, north of Bangui.

He said the peacekeepers were forced to return fire, and in the process 50 members of Seleka, three African soldiers and an unknown number of civilians were killed.

He said, “The fighting broke out hours after the resignation of Prime Minister Andre Nzapayeke and his Government on Tuesday.”

Interim President, Catherine Samba-Panza, requested the resignation after Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka militia signed a peace agreement in neighboring Congo Brazzaville on July 23.

The resignation was intended to allow for the effective implementation of the commitments made in Brazzaville, including national reconciliation.

CAR has been in turmoil since Seleka overthrew President Francois Bozize, a Christian, in March 2013.

Thousands of people have been killed and about a million displaced because of the ethno-religious conflict.

More than 2,000 French, 6,500 African and 800 European forces are battling to contain the violence in the former French colony