‘Bandits have taken the population hostage’ in Bangui: C. Africa president

Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) – The president of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera, on Wednesday said criminal groups battling UN peacekeepers in the flashpoint Muslim PK5 district of Bangui were taking the population hostage.

“Bandits have taken the population hostage,” Touadera said as he left a meeting of UN and African Union representatives, according to a video released by the UN, following clashes in which 19 people died including a UN peacekeeper.