Heavy weapons fire has rung out near Central African
Republic capital of Bangui, as former rebels controlling the city
scrambled fighters in the direction of the gunfire.
Blasts from heavy weapons rocked several districts of the Central African capital.
The automatic gunfire, whose origin was not immediately clear,
started around 5:30 am (0430 GMT) in the north of Bangui and then
spread to other neighbourhoods not far from the city centre.
It was not immediately clear who was involved in the shooting, which
came as the UN Security Council was due to vote on Thursday on
dispatching French reinforcements.
The UN was expected to discuss giving existing African Union and
French troops a stronger mandate to operate in in the country, which
has slipped into chaos since rebels seized power in March, leading to
tit-for-tat sectarian violence.
Human rights groups have been pushing for a peacekeeping mission.
Activists say it is necessary to end a wave of sectarian violence
since a coalition of rebel groups overthrew the government in March.
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