At least four people in the Central African Republic are dead Monday in the latest outbreak of violence between Muslims and Christian radicals which has already claimed the lives of 1,000 people in December, Reuters reported.
The conflict occurred in Bangui, the Central African Republic's capital, between Muslim Seleka and Christian militants. Over a 100,000 people have been displaced from the violence.
"There was heavy weapons fire north of Bangui for a few hours and several neighborhoods were affected," Amy Martin, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangui, told Reuters.
There was a two-day upswing in violence that began on Dec. 5 with reports of constant shots from firearms. But since then the fighting dwindled to shots fired periodically. The Red Cross confirmed Monday's deaths.
"In the area (of the clashes) there were four bodies but I'm sure there will be more," Antoine Mbao, Red Cross president pastor, told Reuters. Mbao also said four more bodies were found spread throughout Bangui.
Unrest in Central African Republic, which is mostly Christian, became prevalent when interim President Michel Djotodia's unorganized militias seized power in March 2013, Reuters reported. The militias began persecuting and killing Christians, causing over 800,000 to be displaced as a result.
The situation intensified when Christian forces began retaliating against the Seleka troops. French and African troops have been trying to stop the violence from spilling over to other parts of the country.
A spokesman for Djotodia told Reuters the new wave of violence was between government troops and the Christian militia named anti-balaka. The spokesman did not specify if there were casualties. One local resident, Flavier Koma, told Reuters that Seleka forces initiated a door-to-door search for anti-balaka members after Monday's killings.
Some say the clashes in the Central African Republic, a country with diamonds and gold, are not about religion. They attribute the violence to a need for control over the country's raw materials, Reuters reported.
