Fighting has swept through the capital of Central African Republic, leaving nearly one hundred people dead and posing the biggest threat yet to the country's new government.
The UN Security Council authorised an intervention force to prevent a bloodbath between Christians and Muslims.
Witnesses and aid workers say at least 98 people are dead in Bangui after a day of clashes yesterday, between the Muslim armed fighters who rule the country and a Christian militia who opposes them.
An Associated Press journalist counted 48 bodies at a mosque in a northern neighborhood late Thursday. Separately, Doctors Without Borders confirmed at least 50 people were dead at hospitals they are running.
The armed Christian fighters attacked the capital before dawn, in the most serious violence to hit Bangui since a March coup brought the Seleka rebel coalition to power. The former rebels are accused of committing scores of human rights abuses.
The Christian militias who support the deposed president are implicated in massacres on Muslim communities.
In Bangui, people scurried indoors, some seeking sanctuary in a church. Inside a Bangui hospital, dozens of people with gunshot wounds lay on the floor or on wooden benches, waiting for hours to see a physician.
Underscoring the chaos, even the president's and prime minister's homes were looted.
