After capturing wide swathes of territory, a rebel group known as Seleka recently agreed to open peace talks.
Rebels in Central African Republic said they had halted their advance
on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, averting a
clash with regionally backed troops in the mineral-rich nation. Above, soldiers from the Chadian contingent of the Central African Multinational Force patrol about 75 kilometres north of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
Published On 2 Jan 20132 Jan 2013
Soldiers from the Republic of Congo have also been deployed to the Central African Republic(***)s capital, Bangui, at the request of Chadian President Idriss Deby.
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Central African President Francois Bozize, right, said on Sunday he was ready to share power with the leaders of the rebellion.
Members of a group calling themselves the (***)(***)Centrafrican Young Patriots(***)(***) block a road to prevent rebels from entering Bangui on January 1. The death of a young Muslim man arrested for alleged links to rebels in the Central African Republic sparked clashes on New Year(***)s Day in Bangui that killed a policeman, a police source said.
Nzapalainga Dieudonne, bishop of Bangui, arrives at the cathedral in Bangui to conduct a mass on January 1. Unrest erupted in Bangui as countries in the region sent reinforcements to protect the capital from rebels who control much of the country and are demanding the departure of President Francois Bozize.
A military vehicle carrying French soldiers patrols a street near the presidential palace in Bangui.
Central African Republic soldiers patrol in a street of Bangui. The rebels are part of a coalition called Seleka, who took up arms on December 10
near the border with Chad.
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Central Africans protested outside the French Embassy in Bangui last month, throwing stones at the building and tearing down the French flag in anger at the rebel advance. French President Francois Hollande rejected President Bozize(***)s request for help to drive back the rebels in this former French colony.