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Ex-rebels killed ‘nearly 1,000’ in two day Bangui rampage

The information gathered “has left no room for doubt that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed by all parties to the conflict,” said Christian Mukosa, Amnesty International’s Central Africa expert.

France sent 1,600 soldiers to the Central African Republic in the wake of the bloodletting to bolster African troops there and try to restore calm.

Despite the foreign intervention, “civilians are being wilfully killed on a daily basis, with at least 90 additional people killed since 8 December,” Amnesty said.

Human Rights Watch warned in its own report Thursday that the French led intervention should be bolstered by other countries.

“The UN Security Council needs to act quickly to bring this evolving catastrophe to a halt,” said Peter Bouckaert, who authored the HRW report.

“The potential for further mass violence is shockingly high,” Bouckaert said.

After a plea from Paris, other European countries have pledged to pitch in and help France restore order to its chaotic former colony.

On Wednesday, France’s European Affairs Minister Thierry Repentin said Germany and Britain were providing “logistical support” with transport planes, while Belgium was considering sending around 150 troops for a “protection mission” to secure the airport in Bangui.

The Spanish government has backed plans to send a Hercules military transport aircraft with a “maintenance and support unit” of up to 60 personnel.

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And the United States has contributed by airlifting some 850 Burundian troops into the country to form part of an eventual 6,000-strong African force.

The Central African crisis is set to top the agenda at a European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile in Bangui, rebel leader-turned-president Djotodia held talks with Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye in a bid to defuse tensions after three ministers were unexpectedly fired by presidential decree at the weekend.

Tiangaye, a former opposition member who was kept on as premier after the ouster of president Francois Bozize, has fled his looted home in Bangui and is now living at a base by the airport under the protection of an African-led force.

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