Ouham-Pende Prefect said the Central African Republic forces exchanged fire with rebels who “infiltrated” a market near the town of Mann.
The local prefect said that at least eleven civilians were killed and several others injured in fighting between rebels and soldiers in the north-west of the Central African Republic.
Rebels “infiltrated the weekly market” near Mann, a town about 600 km (370 miles) northwest of Bangui on Sunday around 10 am (9:00 am GMT), Dieudonne Yougaina, prefect of Ouham-Pende, told AFP on Tuesday Tuesday.
“The Central African armed forces intervened … and the exchange of fire left 11 civilians, nine men and two women and eight injured,” he said.
Yougaina blamed elements of the 3R rebels (Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation) for this. The 3R, composed mainly of fighters from the Fulani ethnic group, is one of the most powerful armed groups in the country.
Last December they joined the rebel coalition that tried to overthrow President Faustin-Archange Touadera and prevent his re-election.
Touadera declared a unilateral ceasefire in the fight against the rebels on October 15 to facilitate the opening of a national dialogue. The main armed groups had declared that they would respect the ceasefire.
On November 9, several opposition parties condemned the violations of the ceasefire by members of the 3R after an attack on a village in the northwest, killing two soldiers and a civilian.
The Central African Republic, classified by the United Nations as the second least developed country in the world, was plunged into a bloody civil war after a coup in 2013.
The conflict has eased significantly over the past three years, although large areas are outside the control of the central government.
A week before the presidential election on Jan.
Government forces, supported by Rwandan soldiers and hundreds of Russian mercenaries, have recaptured the cities and much of the two-thirds of the country that the rebels controlled.
