More than a dozen killed in CAR clashes: sources

More than a dozen people have been killed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in clashes with the fighters of the Seleka coalition, sources say.

According to medical and police sources and witnesses, the victims were killed in different areas of capital Bangui, AFP reported on Sunday.

Several witnesses said twelve people were killed in the seventh district of Bangui, while a Red Cross source said that four died in another part of the capital, and three more elsewhere in the city.

According to police, the clashes broke out as Seleka members were searching for weapons among residents saying there were “nearly 20 dead and dozens of wounded.”

A source at a Bangui hospital morgue said “We don’t have all the details on the victims, but after what we saw and the information we get from other medical sources there are close to 20 dead.”

Mayor Joseph Tagbalet was taken to hospital after being injured in clashes in the seventh district of the capital.

Some of the residents fled across the Ubangi River to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Leading thousands of the Seleka rebels, Michel Djotodia captured Bangui and proclaimed himself president after seizing power from Francois Bozizé, the then CAR president, on March 24.

Following the coup, Djotodia created a transitional government headed by Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye and promised elections in three years.

The Seleka fighters launched an offensive against the CAR government in December 2012.

There are many mineral resources, including gold and diamonds, in the Central African Republic. However, the country is extremely poor and has faced a series of rebellions and coups since it gained independence in 1960.