Amnesty: Muslim exodus in CAR 'ethnic cleansing'

DAKAR: The exodus of tens of thousands of Muslims from Central African Republic amounts to "ethnic cleansing," Amnesty International said Wednesday, warning that the sectarian bloodshed now underway despite the presence of thousands of peacekeepers is a "tragedy of historic proportions.

"Their report comes as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed fears that the violence ravaging Central African Republic could ultimately divide the country in two.

"We cannot just continue to say ´never again.´ This, we have said so many times," Ban said late Tuesday. "We must act concertedly and now to avoid continued atrocities on a massive scale.

"Meanwhile, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pledged Wednesday on a visit to Central African Republic to continue disarming both Muslim and Christian fighters.

"No one accepts or will accept a partition" into a Muslim north and Christian south, he said.

More than 1,000 people have been killed since sectarian fighting erupted in early December and nearly 1 million in this country of 4.6 million have fled their homes.

The country´s Muslim minority, about 15 percent of the population, has come under growing attack from not only Christian militiamen but also from mobs of civilians who have carried out public killings on a nearly daily basis in recent weeks.

In most cases, the bodies of Muslim victims were mutilated and sometimes dragged through the streets or set on fire.