Central African Republic rebels demand payment

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The Seleka rebels who overthrew Central African Republic's president are now demanding that they be paid before they disarm.

Seleka Lt. Ali Alkanto said Saturday that his fighters should receive salaries before they lay down their arms.

He said if the new government doesn't pay the rebels there could be violent clashes.

The demand raises concerns about growing dissent within the rebel movement.

Seleka now controls the national government, headed by Michel Djotodia, although observers say those in the capital wield little control over the rebels who are in the country's north.

While the rebels await payment, senior Seleka leaders have set up residence at the countrkly's only luxury hotel.

Seleka is made up of a coalition of several different rebel groups.

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Central African Republic to probe ousted leader

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's interim government says it is investigating what it claims are human rights abuses committed under the rule of deposed president Francois Bozize.

Justice Minister Arsene Senda, speaking on state radio Saturday, said he instructed prosecutors to probe crimes allegedly carried out by Bozize and other members of his government. Senda charged that the Bozize government was responsible for assassinations, torture, kidnappings and economic crimes. He charged that 119 people were killed by Bozize's bodyguards. He accused Bozize and his family of embezzling state funds.

Bozize, 66, was toppled in March after 10 years in power and sought refuge in Cameroon. The Seleka rebels, led by Michel Djotodia, formed an interim government and have vowed to hold free and fair polls within 18 months.

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C. African Republic leader calls for public order

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's leader is calling on his fighters to restore public order as anger mounts over pillaging in the capital more than a month after they seized power.

In an address televised late Wednesday, Michel Djotodia also called on police and security forces to return to their jobs in an effort to help stabilize the volatile country.

"Weapons should be silenced. I want public order to be reestablished across the nation and for security to return to Central African Republic," he said.

Thousands fighters belonging to a rebel coalition known as Seleka overtook the capital in late March, overthrowing the president of a decade who fled to Cameroon. Djotodia was later chosen to lead an interim transitional government that is promising elections in 18 months' time. That concession has failed to satisfy the international community, though, and the United States maintains the only "legitimate" leader in Central African Republic is the prime minister who retained his post even after Djotodia took power by force.

The International Crisis Group said Wednesday that the security situation has "significantly deteriorated" in Bangui.

"So far, however, the Seleka leadership has been unable or unwilling to bring its fighters under control," it said.

The fighters have looted hospitals, aid organizations and private residences throughout Bangui. Many of their vehicles have been stolen and repainted to cover their original emblems. The looting became so severe in the days after the government's overthrow that some aid organizations allowed rebels to guard their complexes in an effort to keep them from stealing everything.

Bangui's airport has been secured by French military forces, though much of the city remains in a near-anarchic state apart from rebels patrolling in pickup trucks.

Djotodia pledged Wednesday to begin the process of disarmament as soon as possible "because I am a responsible head of state." However, the rebels might not be willing to give up their weapons without some type of compensation and Djotodia did not specify what budget would be used to fund the process.

The issue was long a sticking point between the rebels from northern Central African Republic and Bozize. The rebels accused Bozize and his government of failing to deliver on promises to integrate disarmed fighters into the national military and pay them compensation.

Fighters from several different groups joined forces in December to form Seleka, and threatened at the time to overthrow Bozize. They later agreed to talks and signed a January peace accord but that deal quickly unraveled and by March thousands of rebels invaded Bangui.

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Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.

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Central African Republic elephant poaching rises

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Elephant meat is flooding food markets in villages near a famed wildlife reserve in Central African Republic one month after rebels believed to be involved in poaching overthrew the government, conservationists said Thursday.

The Dzanga-Sangha reserve in the rainforests of southwestern Central African Republic has been home to more than 3,400 forest elephants and features a world-renowned clearing where dozens gather each day.

Now the political chaos unleashed by a rebellion that overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade has enabled elephant poachers to further their slaughter.

"Elephant poaching is on the increase and given the fact that Central African Republic for the moment is also in dire straits we are fearing for the worst in terms of people trying to look seriously for ivory," said Bas Huijbregts, head of policy for WWF's campaign against poaching in Central Africa.

Elephant meat is now being openly sold not only in the town of Bayanga near the reserve, but also in surrounding villages near the protected wildlife area, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, he said.

"Given the total absence of any type of law enforcement and rule of law in the area, there is elephant meat all over the place," he said.

At least 40 elephants have been slain at Dzanga-Sangha since the rebels took power on March 24, said local residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the rebels operating in the area.

However, WWF said it was impossible to estimate how many animals may have been killed because there are currently no patrols going on in the forest to determine where the elephant carcasses may be.

Central African Republic's forest elephants have faced growing threats in recent years from Sudanese hunters on horseback who are making their way further and further south.

The poachers are used to killing elephants in savannah terrain though experts say they are increasingly adapting their methods to hunt elephants in the forest terrain of southern Central African Republic and in neighboring Cameroon.

The Sudanese hunters are now working in tandem with armed rebels from the group known as Seleka, which now has seized control of the federal government, anti-poaching rangers who have fled rebel-controlled areas told The Associated Press.

At least one notorious poacher has declared himself the local representative for Seleka.

Poachers are making greater inroads because of the near-anarchic state that has emerged in many parts of the country since President Francois Bozize was forced from power. Bozize, who himself took control in 2003 after a rebellion, fled into exile as thousands of armed rebels descended upon the capital in late March.

While their leader Michel Djotodia has been chosen to lead a transitional government, critics say he wields very little control over the rebels, who came together from several different groups with a common goal of ousting Bozize.

The rebels are blamed for rampant looting of hospitals and aid groups in the capital, and WWF said it has also had to evacuate its staff from the Dzanga-Sangha reserve after armed rebels looted their offices several times.

WWF said it is working with park staffers who have remained behind to try to secure the key areas inside the reserve despite threats to their personal safety. Those efforts may not be enough to protect elephants though if the situation continues to deteriorate.

"The worst case scenario that we could imagine," said Huijbregts of WWF, "is there would be no change in rule of law, and total anarchy would install itself."

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Associated Press writer Jose Richard Pouamba in Bangui, Central African Republic, contributed to this report.

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Online:

Dzanga Sangha Reserve: http://www.dzanga-sangha.org

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C. African Republic rebels refuge at swank hotel

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Rebel fighters in Central African Republic seized the presidential palace when they overtook the capital in March, though when it came to setting up shop they set their sights a bit loftier: the city's sole luxury hotel.

With no advance reservation, rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles have turned the five-star Ledger Plaza Bangui into the temporary seat of government. And rebel leader Michel Djotodia is giving new meaning to the term presidential suite: His luxury villa behind the drained swimming pool has a listed rate of about $3,850 a night.

Here, the heavily armed rebels stand guard inside a thatched hut pool bar, and those fresh from the battlefield limp in stolen military fatigues past businessmen in traditional embroidered robes and diplomats who come to meet with the man who now rules mineral-rich Central African Republic.

There's the fever of an inauguration weekend in Washington — only with truckloads full of turbaned rebel forces in the parking lot donning ammunition belts.

"They came in from the villages and they are really excited about being in the big city and seeing what they can collect and capture and loot," one international aid worker said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from armed rebels.

It's a rare uptick in business for the posh hotel that opened in September, just months before the volatile capital descended into chaos.

Before the rebels took over the city, the Ledger was most famous for being the place where ex-President Francois Bozize's son ran up a $15,000 bill. Bozize had his son arrested over the unpaid hotel bill.

The ex-president went into exile March 24, after the rebels breached the capital and as fierce fighting across Bangui left an untold number of civilians dead.

The hotel is now home to the top brass who sleep in rooms where executive suites start at $675 a night. The guests, from the rebel alliance known as Seleka, arrived in the days of the invasion and it's not clear how long they'll be staying, said the hotel's general manager Steven Hameeuw.

The exact financial arrangements between the hotel and its rebel guests are also unclear, and Hameeuw declined to comment. But some of those in camouflage can be seen adding lattes and beers to their room tabs.

With its goose-down pillows, dry-cleaning service and central air conditioning, it's a far cry from the rebel hinterlands of the north that lack not only electricity but even paved roads.

Here, clocks in the lobby show the current time of day in New York, Paris, Tripoli, Dubai and Beijing.

Hotel staff keep life humming at the only place in town with 24-7 electricity, running hot water and high-speed Internet. Cocktails are served and fresh flowers put out each day even as rampant looting and volleys of gunfire rock the rest of the city.

In the tiny business center, officials put together and photocopy their announcements of new government appointments for $1 a page.

There is no shortage of plush sofas where visitors await their meetings with the ministers, many of whom have moved into private suites on the hotel's top floor.

Most take their meals in private though rebel strongman Noureddine Adam and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye have been spotted at the nightly dinner buffet that offers up everything from gourmet cheese platters to guacamole to espresso-flavored mousse.

Out front, pick-up trucks full of armed rebels head out for daily patrols. Other fighters sprawl out on the grassy lawn in the sweltering heat.

On one recent afternoon, hotel staff could be seen installing a metal detector at the hotel's main entrance.

"They're asking the rebels to keep their weapons outside," one hotel security guard said on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by the armed rebels. "They don't want to scare the other guests."

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Red Cross: 17 dead in C. African Republic violence

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Local Red Cross officials in the capital of Central African Republic say at least 17 people are dead after fighting between rebels and residents.

The violence comes three weeks after fighters from the rebel alliance known as Seleka invaded the capital and overthrew President Francois Bozize.

Bozize, who had ruled for a decade, had himself come to power through a rebellion.

Residents of Bangui said they awoke Sunday to heavy gunfire rattling across the capital.

The weekend fighting left at least 10 people dead in the Poukandja neighborhood, while another seven bodies were found elsewhere.

The country's new leader Michel Djotodia has begun the process of putting together a new government, though critics say he lacks control over the rebels in the streets who are accused of looting and violence.

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2,000 protest in C. African Republic capital

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — About 2,000 people have taken to the streets of Central African Republic's capital after rebel fighters fatally shot a motorcyclist.

Thursday's demonstration highlights the growing resentment toward pillaging that is being blamed on members of the Seleka group that overthrew the president several weeks ago.

The march came after witnesses said Seleka fighters killed a man and stole his motorcycle.

Seleka rebels have been accused of stealing numerous vehicles in Bangui, not only from citizens but also from international aid organizations working in the deeply impoverished country.

Longtime President Francois Bozize fled into exile on March 24 after the rebel fighters invaded the capital.

Thousands of armed fighters now patrol the city in pickup trucks emblazoned with the Seleka name on them.

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C. African Republic council to pick interim leader

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's self-appointed leader says he's created a new council that now will choose a president to lead the country until elections can be held.

Michel Djotodia, whose fighters moved into the capital on March 23 and eventually overthrew the president of a decade, issued the order on Saturday.

Under the arrangement, the interim president will serve until elections can be held. Djotodia says a vote will take place within 18 months after initially saying he would hold power until 2016.

The shortened timeframe follows pressure from regional neighbors, who held a summit in Chad several days ago on the political crisis.

Djotodia's advisers have said he is not excluded from being considered for the interim presidential position.

Former President Francois Bozize fled to neighboring Cameroon after being overthrown.

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C. African Republic leader OKs faster elections

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's self-declared president will hold elections within 18 months despite initially saying that he would rule until 2016, a spokesman said Thursday.

Michel Djotodia's overthrow of the government nearly two weeks ago forced Francois Bozize, the country's president of a decade, into exile and prompted fierce criticism from the United States, African Union and others.

A regional summit on Wednesday in neighboring Chad urged Djotodia to organize democratic elections within 18 months, and to establish a council that would lead the turbulent country during a transitional period until elections can be held.

"Djotodia has accepted the recommendations," government spokesman Crepin Mboli-Goumba said Thursday, following meetings between Djotodia and the foreign ministers from other countries in the region.

Djotodia had dispatched his prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye to attend this week's summit in Chad. The African Union has suspended Central African Republic's membership following the seizure of power and Djotodia faces AU travel restrictions.

He has now agreed to the establishment of an interim leadership council, Mboli-Goumba said, though Djotodia himself could still seek the presidency under that arrangement. The process of setting up the transitional body is now underway, Mboli-Goumba said.

Djotodia's rebel fighters seized control of the capital of Bangui on March 24, overthrowing Bozize, who had himself taken power after a rebellion a decade ago.

Djotodia first rose to prominence as a rebel leader in 2006 and was an integral part of the formation of Seleka, an alliance of several groups that joined together last December in an effort to oust Bozize.

The rebels first threatened to attack the capital back in January but later signed a peace agreement that created a government of national unity. Under that deal, Bozize was to finish his term in 2016 and Djotodia was to serve as defense minister. Tiangaye, a longtime opposition figure, became prime minister.

However, the deal swiftly unraveled amid allegations of broken promises by Bozize, and thousands of armed fighters invaded Bangui in an assault that also left 13 South African soldiers dead.

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C. African Republic rebel leader faces challenges

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Michel Djotodia showed up for peace talks a few months ago in camouflage and a turban as the face of Central African Republic's rebel movement. Now he has traded those fatigues for a suit as the country's new self-declared leader after overthrowing the president of a decade.

Djotodia, whose diverse resume includes studying in the former Soviet Union and working as a consul in Sudan's region of Darfur, initially signed on in January to serve as the defense minister in a unity government with his longtime nemesis, then President Francois Bozize.

But that power-sharing deal quickly fell apart. Only two months later, Djotodia's forces invaded the capital, and he declared himself president of the impoverished but mineral-rich country for at least the next three years.

Although Djotodia (pronounced joe-toe-DEE-uh) emerged as the dominant leader of the alliance of rag-tag fighters known as Seleka, which means alliance in the local Sango language, some of his colleagues are already saying they never intended for him to single-handedly lead the country after Bozize's ouster.

"We didn't battle to get rid of one dictator only to have another," says Nelson N'Djadder, a Paris-based rebel leader who is now threatening to fight Djotodia for leadership of a nation long plagued by coups and rebellions.

Djotodia, a 60-something longtime rebel, was once a civil servant under Bozize's predecessor and worked at the Central African Republic's consulate in Nyala, located in Sudan's South Darfur state. Recent developments come as little surprise to some observers.

"He has single-mindedly always wanted to be president of Central African Republic. He has been a tremendously ambitious man," said Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based institute on international affairs.

"In the end he had one vision, which was to take power and he has done that unconstitutionally now," Vines added.

Among a wide field of potential rebel leaders, he managed to position himself front and center, said Louisa Lombard, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley who has been traveling to Central African Republic for the past 10 years for research.

"I think he's mostly been successful through his diplomacy and negotiating alliances with different people and getting them on his side," she said. "It's a combination of being in the right place and having the right ambitions."

Djotodia hails from the country's northeastern Vakaga area, the poorest region of one of the world's most deeply impoverished countries. Analysts say he married and had children while living in the Soviet Union, and speaks fluent Russian and French.

By 2006 he had helped form the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity, known by its French acronym UFDR. His rebels sparked alarm when they seized the capitals of two northern provinces that year.

While the UFDR at the time "claimed to be fighting for greater government investment in the neglected northeast," its leaders seemed more interested in getting well-paying jobs within Bozize's government as part of a cease-fire agreement, according to a report by the International Crisis Group.

Djotodia later fled into exile in Benin in 2006 along with his colleague Abakar Saboune, where they were ultimately arrested and thrown into prison on international arrest warrants. He was released in 2008 at the request of the Central African Republic government, according to human rights groups.

It's not exactly clear where he was or what he was doing immediately after his release in Benin but after returning home, Djotodia spearheaded a rebel alliance that made partners out of sworn enemies.

His return to Central African Republic appears to have been a key factor in sparking the Seleka rebellion in December, say analysts and observers.

In an interview with Jeune Afrique magazine published the same week Bozize was overthrown, Bozize said he suspected foreign involvement in the rebellion.

"Six months before the launching of this rebellion, I sent a delegation to meet with (Djotodia) in his home city of Gordil," Bozize recalled. "He declared that he was in favor of peace and respecting the demobilization agreements. So I was quite surprised to see him launch this regrettable venture. Was he activated by external forces? It's probable."

Djotodia is believed to have cultivated ties with Chadian rebels while working in Sudan a decade ago. Those possible ties to elements in other countries and the shaky alliance between other fighters in the Seleka coalition could prove challenging, said Berkeley analyst Lombard: "I think it's likely that we'll see some struggles for control and power in the weeks to come."

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Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

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Rebels patrol Central African Republic capital

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Teams of rebels patrolled the capital of Bangui on Tuesday after aid groups said their facilities had been looted and robbed in the aftermath of the weekend coup that ousted Central African Republic's president of a decade.

The efforts to restore order to the city of 700,000 came as a rebel leader declared himself the new president and announced he would stay in power for three years.

Continuing violence in Central African Republic was preventing critically wounded patients from getting the help they needed, said the French medical aid group, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.

"MSF condemns the looting and robberies of our facilities and reminds all parties that medical personnel must be respected and protected and must be granted all available help in the performance of their duties," said Serge St. Louis, MSF head of mission in Bangui.

More than 1,000 armed rebels attacked the capital on Saturday, forcing longtime President Francois Bozize into exile in neighboring Cameroon. The fierce fighting left at least 13 South African soldiers dead and an untold number of civilian casualties.

It was the latest political turmoil to destabilize Central African Republic, a country where leaders since independence from France in 1960 have come to power or been ousted in a series of coups and rebellions.

On Monday, rebel leader Michel Djotodia made his first public declaration since overthrowing Bozize, stating that he planned to stay in power until 2016.

The leader of the rebel coalition known as Seleka justified the coup by saying that Bozize had veered into dictatorship during his 10 years in power.

"Through us, it was the entire population of Central African Republic that rose up as a single man against the president," Djotodia said, according to Radio France Internationale.

Meanwhile, French forces protecting Bangui's main airport opened fire on three cars that were speeding toward a security checkpoint, said the French Defense Ministry.

The cars, carrying Indian and Chadian citizens, continued despite warning shots. Two Indian citizens were killed, and the wounded Indian and Chadian passengers were taken for medical care, the defense minister said in the statement Monday.

France is investigating the shooting, the statement said.

The rebels' advance started last week when they pushed past Damara, a town 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the northeast. Damara had marked the line of control drawn by regional forces in January, following an accord signed in Libreville, the capital of neighboring Gabon.

The rebels broke that accord last week, claiming that Bozize's government had failed to make good on a series of promises, including sending back the South African troops guarding the capital.

The South African troops came under an onslaught of fire from the Seleka rebels, who shot and killed 13 South African soldiers over the weekend, in their fight to take the capital.

Seleka is a loose coalition of fighters, many of whom fought in previous rebellions. They joined forces last fall, beginning their advance toward the capital in December.

The Seleka fighters benefited from the growing dissatisfaction with Bozize, who came to power in 2003, at the helm of a column of a different rebel group which also invaded the capital and toppled the former leader.

Bozize is accused of growing cronyism, and in the last election in 2011, around 20 of Bozize's family members and close associates including former mistresses, won posts in the government, according to Louisa Lombard, a postdoctoral fellow in geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

"There was the sense that governing was being carried out by a tighter and tighter circle of people around Bozize," says Lombard, who has been travelling to Central African Republic for the past 10 years for research.

"And although all sorts of technocratic procedures were in place to make the government more inclusive, it was in fact less and less inclusive. The more technocratic people got sidelined. Those who held positions of power did not have much education, much background in their chosen field. There was a disregard for any kind of merit in governing."

Lombard cautions, however, that the Seleka coalition is very loosely held together. Already on Monday, a different rebel leader, 26-year-old Nelson N'Djadder who is based in Paris, said that he does not recognize Djotodia as their new president.

"Seleka is a very heterogeneous group. That is something we noticed since the beginning, when it first emerged," said Lombard. "Holding it together will be a big problem."

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Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. Lori Hinnant contributed to this report from Paris.

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Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

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C. African Republic hospitals looted after coup

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Aid groups and the international community on Tuesday condemned widespread looting in Central African Republic's capital, saying that even hospitals had been robbed in the aftermath of a weekend coup that ousted the president of a decade.

Efforts to restore order to Bangui, a city of 700,000, came as a rebel leader declared himself the new president and announced he would stay in power for three years.

Continuing violence in Central African Republic was preventing critically wounded patients from getting the help they needed, said the French medical aid group, Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.

"MSF condemns the looting and robberies of our facilities and reminds all parties that medical personnel must be respected and protected and must be granted all available help in the performance of their duties," said Serge St. Louis, MSF head of mission in Bangui.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky also said Tuesday that "widespread looting is continuing, including of one pediatric hospital."

More than 1,000 armed rebels from the alliance known as Seleka attacked the capital on Saturday, forcing longtime President Francois Bozize into exile in neighboring Cameroon. The fierce fighting left at least 13 South African soldiers dead and an untold number of civilian casualties.

It was the latest political turmoil to destabilize Central African Republic, a country where leaders since independence from France in 1960 have come to power or been ousted in a series of coups and rebellions.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell sharply criticized the "illegitimate seizure of power."

"We strongly condemn these actions," Ventrell told reporters. "The Seleka leadership must account for its trail of destruction."

On Monday, rebel leader Michel Djotodia made his first public declaration since overthrowing Bozize, stating that he planned to stay in power until 2016.

The leader of the rebel coalition justified the coup by saying that Bozize had veered into dictatorship during his 10 years in power.

"Through us, it was the entire population of Central African Republic that rose up as a single man against the president," Djotodia said, according to Radio France Internationale.

Meanwhile, French forces protecting Bangui's main airport opened fire on three cars that were speeding toward a security checkpoint, said the French Defense Ministry.

The cars, carrying Indian and Chadian citizens, continued despite warning shots. Two Indian citizens were killed, and the wounded Indian and Chadian passengers were taken for medical care, the defense ministry said in the statement Monday.

France is investigating the shooting, the statement said.

The rebels' advance started last week when they pushed past Damara, a town 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the northeast. Damara had marked the line of control drawn by regional forces in January, following an accord signed in Libreville, the capital of neighboring Gabon.

The rebels broke that accord last week, claiming that Bozize's government had failed to make good on a series of promises, including sending back the South African troops guarding the capital.

The South African troops came under an onslaught of fire from the Seleka rebels, who shot and killed 13 South African soldiers over the weekend, in their fight to take the capital.

Seleka is a loose coalition of fighters, many of whom fought in previous rebellions. They joined forces last fall, beginning their advance toward the capital in December.

The Seleka fighters benefited from the growing dissatisfaction with Bozize, who came to power in 2003, at the helm of a column of a different rebel group which also invaded the capital and toppled the former leader.

Bozize is accused of growing cronyism, and in the last election in 2011, around 20 of Bozize's family members and close associates, including former mistresses, won posts in the government, according to Louisa Lombard, a postdoctoral fellow in geography at the University of California, Berkeley.

"There was the sense that governing was being carried out by a tighter and tighter circle of people around Bozize," says Lombard, who has been traveling to Central African Republic for the past 10 years for research.

"And although all sorts of technocratic procedures were in place to make the government more inclusive, it was in fact less and less inclusive. The more technocratic people got sidelined. Those who held positions of power did not have much education, much background in their chosen field. There was a disregard for any kind of merit in governing."

Lombard cautions, however, that the Seleka coalition is very loosely held together. Already on Monday, a different rebel leader, 26-year-old Nelson N'Djadder who is based in Paris, said that he does not recognize Djotodia as their new president.

"Seleka is a very heterogeneous group. That is something we noticed since the beginning, when it first emerged," said Lombard. "Holding it together will be a big problem."

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Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper in Washington and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report.

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Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

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C. African Republic president flees to Cameroon

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — The president of Central African Republic fled to neighboring Cameroon on Monday, as the rebels who overthrew him began squabbling who would now lead the impoverished nation long wracked by rebellions.

South Africa said 13 of its soldiers were killed in a fight against the Seleka rebels over the weekend as up to 3,000 fighters attacked its troops while advancing through the capital, Bangui. It was one of South Africa's heaviest losses in combat in nearly two decades and prompted criticism about why the country's forces had intervened in such a volatile conflict.

One of the Seleka rebel leaders, Michel Djotodia, said Monday he considers himself to be the new head of state.

But another rebel leader told reporters his group does not recognize Djotodia as president, and says they will challenge his attempt to install himself at the helm. The move raises the specter of continuing unrest, amid reports of chaotic and violent looting in the capital, Bangui.

The United States is "deeply concerned about a serious deterioration in the security situation" in Central African Republic, said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Sunday.

"We urgently call on the Seleka leadership which has taken control of Bangui to establish law and order in the city and to restore basic services of electricity and water," the statement said.

The government of Cameroon confirmed Monday that Bozize is seeking "temporary" refuge there before leaving for another unspecified country.

The ousted president managed to get out of Central African Republic amid fierce fighting over the weekend.

South African forces who were there to aid Bozize's troops suffered casualties when they "fought a high-tempo battle for nine hours defending the South African military base, until the bandits raised a white flag and asked for a cease-fire," South African President Jacob Zuma said. "Our soldiers inflicted heavy casualties among the attacking bandit forces."

Gen. Solly Shoke, South Africa's military chief, said 3,000 rebels took part in fighting. He said the assailants were armed with mortars and heavy machine guns.

Following Bozize's ouster, divisions are already emerging over will lead the country.

In Paris, Nelson N'Jaadder, the president of the Revolution for Democracy, one of the rebel groups belonging to the Seleka rebel coalition which invaded the capital, said that his fighters do not recognize Michel Djotodia, who earlier claimed he was head of state of Central African Republic.

N'Jaadder said there was never a consensus around appointing Djotodia as their overall leader.

"We do not recognize him as president," N'Jaadder told The Associated Press by telephone from Paris. "We had agreed that we would push to Bangui in order to arrest Bozize and that we would then announce an 18-month transition, a transition that would be as fast as possible — and not one that would last three years," he said.

"For your information, I have enough soldiers loyal to me to attack Djotodia. I am planning to take the Wednesday flight to Bangui."

N'Jaadder said that rebels had been pillaging people's homes in Bangui, including the homes of French expatriates. He said that on Monday, he had received a phone call from France's ambassador to Bangui and had presented his apology, explaining that those doing the pillaging were mostly Djotodia's men. "We came to liberate the people, not to steal from them. This is shameful. Unacceptable," he said.

The Seleka rebel coalition is made up of several rebel groups, which last December began their rapid sweep into the Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million located at the heart of the continent.

The rebels pushed all the way to a town just outside Damara, 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the capital, before entering into talks with the government. In January, they signed a peace deal in Libreville, the capital of the neighboring nation of Gabon, agreeing to allow Bozize to carry out the last three years of his term, in return for a number of concessions.

Last week, they declared the peace deal void, saying Bozize had failed to free their prisoners and had refused to send back the South African troops that were guarding him, two of the points of the accord.

In just three days, they swept past Damara, marking the "red line" set up by a regional force to divide rebel-held territory from the area under government control, and advanced all the way to a checkpoint, PK12, just outside the capital.

The speed of the rebel advance, and the fact that they succeeded in pushing past the South African troops stationed in Bangui suggests they are well-armed, and likely benefiting from the support of neighboring nations. There has been speculation that either Chad or Sudan or Gabon had provided the rebels with arms and logistical support. Djotodia rejected that claim.

"If we picked up arms, it's not because we were pushed by this or that person," he told RFI. "It's poverty, simply put, that pushed us to pick up arms — that's all."

The coup is expected to affect the hunt for Joseph Kony, said the commander of African troops tracking the the fugitive warlord. Bozize was a strong supporter of African efforts to dismantle Kony's Lord's Resistance Army and allowed the creation of two anti-Kony military bases in his country.

Ugandan Brig. Dick Olum, speaking from his South Sudanese military base in Nzara, said Monday he is concerned by past rebel statements that all foreign troops must leave the country. Some 3,350 African troops are currently deployed against the LRA in South Sudan and Central African Republic.

The U.S. also has anti-Kony military advisers in CAR. The U.S. Africa Command did not have any immediate comment Monday.

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Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Dakar, Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda also contributed to this report.

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Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

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C. African Republic president overthrown by rebels

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said.

The rebels' invasion of the capital came just two months after they had signed a peace agreement that would have let President Francois Bozize serve until 2016. That deal unraveled in recent days, prompting the insurgents' advance into Bangui and Bozize's departure to a still unpublicized location.

Witnesses and an adviser to Bozize said rebel trucks were traveling throughout the town on Sunday hours after the palace was seized. Former colonial power France confirmed the developments, issuing a statement that said French President Francois Hollande "has taken note of the departure of President Francois Bozize."

"Central African Republic has just opened a new page in its history," said a communique signed by Justin Kombo Moustapha, secretary-general of the alliance of rebel groups known as Seleka.

"The political committee of the Seleka coalition, made up of Central Africans of all kinds, calls on the population to remain calm and to prepare to welcome the revolutionary forces of Seleka," it said.

Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million, has long been wracked by rebellions and power grabs. Bozize himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups.

The rebels reached the outskirts of Bangui late Saturday. Heavy gunfire echoed through the city Sunday as the fighters made their way to the presidential palace, though the president was not there at the time.

"Bozize left the city this morning," said Maximin Olouamat, a Bozize adviser. He declined to say where the president had gone.

The last public news of Bozize's whereabouts came Friday, when state radio announced he had returned from a visit to South Africa.

Coverseas Worldwide Assistance, a Swiss-based crisis management firm that has contacts on the ground, said it believed Bozize was headed toward neighboring Congo. Bangui is located along the Oubangui River that separates the two countries.

Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende, however, said he had no knowledge of Bozize crossing into Congo.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Sunday that the United States was "deeply concerned about a serious deterioration in the security situation" in Central African Republic.

"We urgently call on the Seleka leadership which has taken control of Bangui to establish law and order in the city and to restore basic services of electricity and water," the statement said.

Rebels from several armed groups that have long opposed Bozize joined forces in December and began seizing towns across the sparsely populated north. They threatened at the time to march on Bangui, but ultimately halted their advance and agreed to engage in peace talks in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

A deal was signed Jan. 11 that allowed Bozize to finish his term, which expires in 2016, but the rebels soon began accusing the president of failing to fulfill promises made.

They demanded Bozize send home South African forces who were helping bolster the country's military. They also sought to integrate some 2,000 rebel fighters into Central African Republic's armed forces.

Earlier this month, the rebels again took control of two towns and threatening to advance on the capital.

Late Saturday, Bangui was plunged into darkness after fighters cut power to much of the city. State radio went dead, and fearful residents cowered in their homes.

An unspecified number of French citizens have taken refuge in the French Embassy, a French diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to be publicly named according to Foreign Ministry policy. The diplomat said extra French troops were brought in to secure the Bangui airport.

Hundreds of French soldiers already were in the country, some of whom were sent in to protect French interests in the former colony. Bozize had appealed to Hollande for help, but the French president said he would not be protecting the government. Other French soldiers have been providing technical support and helping to train the local army, according to the French defense ministry.

South African Brig. Gen. Xolani Mabanga, the country's military spokesman, said there had been "intense" fighting this weekend between rebels and South African forces. "Our base was attacked by the rebels as they were advancing toward the capital," he said.

"We have suffered some casualties," he said. He declined to provide the number of casualties, pending the outcome of an investigation.

The peace deal also had created a prime minister post, which was given to opposition leader Nicolas Tiangaye, who had been sheltering at a military base for forces from regional neighbors known as FOMAC.

The United States urged the rebels to "provide full support" to Tiangaye, citing the "continued legitimacy" of the peace deal signed in January.

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Krista Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

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C. African Republic president flees rebel attack

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's President Francois Bozize fled the capital early Sunday, hours after hundreds of armed rebels threatening to overthrow him invaded the city, an adviser said.

The rebel alliance, known as Seleka, issued a statement referring to Bozize as the country's "former president."

"Central African Republic has just opened a new page in its history," said the communique, which was signed by Justin Kombo Moustapha, secretary-general of Seleka.

"The political committee of the Seleka coalition, made up of Central Africans of all kinds, calls on the population to remain calm and to prepare to welcome the revolutionary forces of Seleka," it said.

The rebels had reached the outskirts of Bangui late Saturday. Heavy gunfire echoed through the city Sunday as the fighters made their way into the heart of downtown and seized the presidential palace, though the country's leader of a decade was not there at the time.

"Bozize left the city this morning," said Maximin Olouamat, a member of Bozize's presidential majority. The adviser declined to say where the president had gone.

Coverseas Worldwide Assistance, a Swiss-based crisis management firm that has contacts on the ground, said it believed Bozize was headed toward neighboring Congo.

Bangui is located along the Oubangui River that separates the two countries.

Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende, however, said he had no knowledge of Bozize crossing into Congo.

Rebels from several armed groups that have long opposed Bozize joined forces in December and began seizing towns across the country's sparsely populated north. They threatened at the time to march on Bangui, but ultimately halted their advance and agreed to go to peace negotiations in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

A peace deal was signed Jan. 11 that allowed Bozize to finish his term that expires in 2016, but the rebels soon began accusing the president of failing to fulfill the promises that were made.

They demanded that Bozize send home South African forces who were helping bolster the country's military. And they sought to integrate some 2,000 rebel fighters into Central African Republic's armed forces.

The deal unraveled more than a week ago, with the rebels again taking control of two towns and threatening to advance on the capital.

Late Saturday, Bangui was plunged into darkness after fighters cut power to much of the city. State radio went dead, and fearful residents cowered in their homes.

An unspecified number of French citizens have taken refuge in the French Embassy, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to be publicly named according to Foreign Ministry policy.

"For us, there is no other solution than the departure of Francois Bozize," Eric Massi, a rebel spokesman, said from Paris by telephone late Saturday.

Massi said the rebels were securing the city, and he called on residents to remain calm and avoid looting amid the chaos.

South African Brig. Gen. Xolani Mabanga, the country's military spokesman, said there had been "intense" fighting this weekend between the rebels and South African forces.

"Our base was attacked by the rebels as they were advancing toward the capital," he said. South African forces suffered casualties from the fighting Saturday night, he said.

"We have suffered some casualties," he said. He declined to provide the number of casualties, pending the outcome of an investigation.

He said the situation for South African forces was "relatively calm" on Sunday afternoon.

"There are no threats at this moment," he said.

The growing unrest is the latest threat to the stability of Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million that has long been wracked by rebellions and power grabs.

The president himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups.

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Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

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Rebels advance toward C. African Republic capital

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Rebels in Central African Republic are advancing on the capital, Bangui, after taking the town of Damara on Friday, a rebel spokesman said.

By seizing Damara the rebels crossed the boundary line drawn by regional forces in January, when the same rebel group threatened to take the capital if their demands were not met.

The rebels, known as Seleka, attacked the town of Bossangoa early Friday, before taking Damara later in the day, said Eric Massi, a Paris-based spokesman for the rebels.

He claimed that his fighters had already covertly infiltrated the capital, Bangui, and are waiting for their fellow fighters to join them.

Panic spread throughout the capital, with the neighborhoods closest to the northern gate of the city emptying out, as frightened residents locked up their shops, packed their bags and yanked their children out of school. Banks and government offices closed early.

National radio announced Friday afternoon that President Francois Bozize had returned from a meeting in South Africa.

The country's prime minister, meanwhile, had sought refuge at a military base for regional forces known as FOMAC, according to soldier Jean-Pierre Sadou.

"Bossangoa fell without a fight. And as you know, Bossangoa is the fief of President Francois Bozize. We took Bossangoa in the morning and by early afternoon, our elements were in Damara," Massi said by telephone.

"They are now marching on the capital," said Massi. "We are calling on the population and on the military to put down their arms. And we are calling on our soldiers to prove that they are disciplined, to refrain from pillaging, so that we can avoid unnecessary combat."

The United Nations Security Council scheduled emergency closed consultations on Friday to discuss the latest developments in Central African Republic.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda also expressed alarm about the situation.

"I am deeply concerned about reports of the worsening situation in the Central African Republic and allegations of the commission of serious crimes in the context of the on-going conflict," Bensouda said. "I remind all parties to the conflict in CAR that ICC has jurisdiction in CAR and my office will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute all those alleged to be committing these crimes."

In January, an international force made up of soldiers from the countries neighboring Central African Republic rushed to the front, creating a new line of control in Damara. The rebels stopped just before Damara, before entering into talks with the government, culminating in a Jan. 11 peace deal signed in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

In Bossangoa, resident Marien Nambea confirmed the town had fallen to the rebels, and in Damara, Sadou from the regional force known as FOMAC said the rebels had pushed through their defenses. It was not immediately clear if the FOMAC soldiers had strategically retreated in order to better protect the capital, or if they had fled.

"Since the signing of the deal in Libreville, President Francois Bozize has spent his time trying to put the brakes on the application of the accord. The humanitarian situation has become significantly worse. It's starting to frustrate the people of the Central African Republic and it's why the soldiers of Seleka took this decision," Massi said.

Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million located at the heart of the African continent, remains one of the world's poorest nations, with most people dying before their 49th birthday, according to data from the World Bank. It has weathered repeated coups and rebel invasions, which have become part of the nation's political DNA.

In power since 2003, Bozize is himself the result of a rebel occupation. After years as a high-ranking military officer, Bozize launched a rebellion in 2001, taking Bangui two years later, when the then-president was out of the country.

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Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. AP Writer Edith Lederer contributed from the United Nations.

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Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

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C. African Republic rebels reject president offers

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Rebels in Central African Republic are vowing to take up arms again despite recent concessions made by the country's president in a bid to stay in power.

The rebels had set a Wednesday deadline for President Francois Bozize's government to address their grievances.

An alliance of rebel groups signed a peace agreement with the government in January after threatening to march on the capital of Bangui.

In a presidential decree read late Wednesday, Bozize agreed to lift a curfew and release political prisoners.

But rebel spokesman Col. Sylvain Oumar Bordas says the president's actions are too little too late. Bordas says the rebel leaders are now discussing their next steps.

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Dominican Republic to inspect mine shipments

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A Canadian mining venture has agreed to have its gold shipments inspected by the Dominican government, ending a standoff that halted a cargo valued at nearly $12 million.

Dominican Customs Director Fernando Fernandez said his agency would inspect the export shipment from the Barrick Pueblo Viejo mine early next week. He appeared at a news conference Friday after meeting with company officials.

Agents detained the shipment of 6,000 ounces of gold and 30,000 ounces of silver Wednesday after the company said the seals could not be broken until the shipment reached Canada.

Pueblo Viejo is one of the world's largest mine operations. It is run by Barrick Gold Corp. of Toronto and Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver. The government has been pressuring the venture to renegotiate its royalty contract.

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