C.African president resigns after deadly unrest

C.African president resigns after deadly unrest

Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia stepped down under regional pressure on Friday after failing to stem sectarian violence ripping his country apart.

A picture taken on January 8, 2014 shows Central African Republic president Michel Djotodia arriving at Mpoko Bangui airport in the capital Bangui on his way to Chad's capital N'Djamena to attend a summit on the unrest in his country

His resignation sparked jubilation in the strife-torn capital Bangui, with many residents expressing hope the violence would now subside.

Regional leaders, who had piled pressure on Djotodia to step down during their summit in Chad, called it a "highly patriotic decision" to wrest the country out of paralysis, while France urged transition authorities to decide swiftly on a new caretaker president.

In Bangui, news that both Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye had resigned was greeted with joy, with thousands of people descending on the streets, shouting "it's over, it's over".

"This guy (Djotodia) drove the country into the ground, he is a demon," said Tertus Ngoupou, seeking refuge at a massive camp near the airport alongside tens of thousands of Christians fleeing inter-religious clashes.

"If God wills it, from tonight Christians and Muslims will live in harmony and I will be back in my home by Sunday."

French military armoured vehicles were deployed near the presidential palace while peacekeepers were patrolling in the capital.

In a sign of ongoing tension in the capital, sporadic shooting rang out in the afternoon and there were a few incidents of looting, a French military source told AFP.

"We are in a state of maximum alert," he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the African Union to speedily provide promised troops to help curb the "terrible crisis" in the Central African Republic.

France has sent 1,600 troops to the country to support the African Union force which is meant to have up to 6,000 troops but has not yet reached 3,500.

Meanwhile European Union nations on Friday agreed in principle on a plan to launch a joint military operation in the country, with a final decision expected on January 20, an EU source said.

Djotodia successor to be chosen Monday

Candidates to replace Djotodia have yet to emerge, but the interim parliament is due to hold a special session Monday to choose his successor.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged lawmakers to decide "as soon as possible" on a replacement, before elections by the end of the year.

The Central African Republic plunged into chaos after a rebel alliance known as Seleka seized power from Francois Bozize in March last year and installed Djotodia as the first Muslim president of the majority-Christian country.

Djotodia ordered the rebels to disband. But many turned rogue and went on killing, raping and pillaging, prompting Christians to form vigilante groups in response and sparking a deadly cycle of revenge attacks.

Fed up with Djotodia's failure to halt the violence that had claimed more than 1,000 lives in the last month alone, Chad called a summit of leaders from the region.

All 135 lawmakers from the CAR were also flown in at the behest of Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno to try to resolve the crisis as it threatened to spill over into neighbouring countries.

On Friday, the leaders said in a statement that they "noted the resignation" of Djotodia and Tiengaye.

Deby, Central Africa's perennial kingmaker, had opened the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) summit Thursday with stark words seen as a push to remove Djotodia.

"The CAR is suffering deeply from the actions of its own sons, who are dragging their country down into a war that jeopardises its future," he said.

Deby called for "concrete and decisive action" to halt the violence.

Looming humanitarian crisis

Regional leaders are anxious to stem the crisis as there are fears that the unrest is extending beyond the mineral-rich Central African Republic.

The United Nations has warned that both ex-Seleka rebels and CAR former soldiers have crossed into the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo, causing local residents to flee.

Many troops fled their home country when the Seleka rebels launched their coup. The rebels in turn were pushed out when French and African peacekeepers arrived in the country in December.

Although mass slaughters have mostly ceased in Bangui itself, under frequent patrols by the peacekeepers, sporadic killings carry on almost every night.

A humanitarian disaster is also looming with almost a million people having fled their homes in a nation of about 4.6 million people.

Some 100,000 of them have set up camp in one tent city alone near Bangui airport, close to the peacekeepers' bases.

UNICEF has warned of a potential disaster in overcrowded camps in and around the capital, where there have been several cases of measles, which could be deadly. Relief agencies have joined in a vaccination campaign.

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