Attack kills 10 in CAR

2009-06-22 15:55

Bangui  - Ten people have been killed in an attack on the town of Birao in northeast Central African Republic, a former rebel group said on Monday, but an army source reported six wounded.

Armed men on Sunday attacked a base of the former Union of Democratic Forces for the Rally (Ufdr) rebels, two weeks after a similar attack, Ufdr  spokesperson  Djarnib Ngrebaye said.

"We counted 10 dead yesterday in the ranks of the assailants," Ngrebaye said. "Three men on the Ufdr  side were wounded."

A Central African military source in Birao confirmed the clash and blamed "unidentified elements" for the raid. He reported six wounded, saying they included "three members of the Ufdr  and three civilians".

Ngrebaye said the UFDR, which has signed up to a peace process in the troubled nation, last came under attack at Birao on June 6.

At the time, the army, former rebels and residents said at least 27 people were killed in ethnic clashes.

Birao is about 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of Bangui in Vakaga province, near the borders with Chad and Sudan. The town has already seen ethnic fighting among the Goula, Kara and Ronga tribes, as well as bloody land disputes.

- AFP