A powerful militia in Central African Republic said on Saturday it will only disarm once its main rivals, the mainly Muslim Seleka fighters, lay down their weapons.
The deadlock risks prolonging the crisis that had seen the Seleka fighters forced out of power and scattered, mainly to the north in recent weeks.
The “anti-balaka” self-defence militia was formed last year to defend Christian communities targeted by Seleka forces who ousted the president in March, triggering cycles of revenge killings that continue to grip the country despite the deployment of thousands of foreign peacekeepers.
Muslims, who stayed behind, have been targeted and France now believes the largely Christian militia is the main obstacle to peace.
“We will lay down (our weapons) in the center of town in front of the international community … only on the condition that these bandits are disarmed first,” Sebastien Wenezoui, spokesman for the “anti-balaka” force said on Saturday.
Wenezoui said that fighters from around Bangui, the crumbling capital that has seen hundreds of thousands of its residents forced from their homes by street battles and lynchings, would hand over all the weapons they owned.
French and African troops – which rushed in reinforcements as 1,000 people were killed in clashes during the month of December alone – have tried to disarm gunmen in the riverside capital but the city remains awash with guns and machetes.