11 killed, 14 missing in C. Africa Republic violence

Eleven people were killed and 14 remain missing after clashes in the Central African Republic earlier this week triggered by the murder of an army officer, the UN said Thursday.

The violence in the capital Bangui Tuesday erupted after the slaying of army commander Marcel Mombeka in the city's predominantly Muslim PK5 neighbourhood by an armed militia.

"We condemn the 11 deaths, 14 disappearances and 14 people injured. The UN forces moved on Tuesday and Wednesday to separate groups seeking to create problems," Herve Verhoosel, communications director of the UN's MINUSCA force in the country, said on Thursday.

"The situation in Bangui is now calm," he said, adding that the UN and CAR officials had called on the public to refrain from violence.

CAR, one of the world's poorest countries, was plunged into chaos by the March 2013 ousting of long-serving president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance.

The coup sparked revenge attacks involving Muslim forces and Christian vigilante groups known as "anti-balaka" (anti-machete) militias.

Thousands were slaughtered in the spiral of atrocities that displaced about a tenth of the population of 4.8 million.

Fears of a bloodbath led to a military intervention by former colonial power France and the deployment of UN peacekeepers.