At least 12 people were killed in clashes in Central African Republic that were sparked by an attack from gunmen against a herdsmen' camp in the impoverished country, a police source said today.
The violence in the country's east pitted Christian anti-balaka militia fighters against Muslim ex-Seleka rebels, mirroring the waves of killing and pillaging that broke out after a 2013 coup pushed the nation into an unprecedented religious conflict.
"On Sunday and Monday, gunmen claiming to be anti-balaka attacked a herdsmen' camp in the village of Malegbassa in the Zangba commune to steal their cows, killing four people and wounding four others," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"The attacks were followed on Monday by reprisals by ex-Seleka (rebels) and armed herdsmen against residents of neighbouring Ndoma village, killing at least eight people and wounding several others," he added.
Several people were taken hostage in Ndoma, the source said, adding that the death toll could yet rise.
"The reprisals also caused many Ndoma and Malegbassa residents to flee into the bush and (nearby) Democratic Republic of Congo," the police source said.
According to Ibrahim Hamat Nediad, a spokesman for the ex-Seleka rebels in the region who said he "deployed men to the area" of the clash, the number of herdsmen killed in the initial attack could be as high as 16.
Ex-Seleka fighters are close to the herdsmen and they regularly defend them against anti-balaka attacks.
The March 2013 coup by Seleka rebels that overthrew president Francois Bozize unleashed the worst crisis in Central African Republic's history since its independence from France in 1960.
The country is set to hold elections in October, but the polls have already been pushed back three times as the country continues to grapple with the crisis.
Herdsmen are regularly attacked by anti-balaka militia, and they no longer travel to the capital Bangui to sell their livestock.
Beef now costs five times more in the capital than in the countryside, making herdsmen's camps a target for militiamen looking to pillage livestock.
