US airlifts Burundian troops into Central African Republic

Troops from Burundi will join an African peacekeeping force that is currently struggling to contain the violence in Central African Republic.

Colonel Gaspard Baratuza, Burundi army spokesman, confirmed; “Burundi is deploying a battalion of troops to the Central African Republic. A US plane today airlifted the first team and the operation with US logistics will continue.”

The mission is being expanded under African Union command with troop numbers increased from 2,500 to 6,000 after meetings between African leaders in France.

Britain has also begun air lifting equipment for French troops into the capital, Bangui.

Dramatic rescue

African peacekeepers fired into the air in Bangui on Thursday to stop a mob killing Muslims who had taken refuge in a church compound.

Several thousand people stood by as a group of young men tried to break into the compound of the Saint-Jacques Church. They were said to be looking for an ex-rebel general believed to be inside.

After firing their guns to disperse crowds, regional peacekeepers hustled several men from the church compound. The men wore civilian clothing and appeared to be Muslim clerics rather than ex-rebels.

Religious leaders sought reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in Central African Republic yesterday during a lull in the violence that has seen hundreds of people killed.

Read the latest from Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson in the Central African Republic

Fighters, both Muslim and Christian, have gone door to door murdering civilians over the past week and mobs have carried out lynchings, set fire to cars and looted shops.

French troops were deployed over fears of a Muslim-Christian “genocide” but Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia, has said the fears were exaggerated.

The French military presence was boosted to 1,600 soldiers following the wave of massacres that began last Thursday, that killed more than 500 people. Two French soldiers have been killed.

The French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the complexity of the situation meant the mission could be harder than Mali, where French troops are still trying to rid the north of Islamist militants.

The United Nations estimates the total number of displaced countrywide has risen to half a million since the crisis began last year.

Medical charity Medical Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said an improvised centre for over 20,000 displaced people at Bangui airport was lacking food, shelter and toilets.