Central African Republic's new leader Michel Djotodia, facing international isolation after seizing power, said on Saturday he would not take reprisals against rivals and called on those who fled abroad to return, Reuters reported. The United States said on Saturday it did not recognise Djotodia, who toppled President Francois Bozize on March 24 after leading thousands of his Seleka rebels into the mineral-rich nation's capital Bangui, triggering days of looting. "I make a patriotic and brotherly appeal for our countrymen, who have chosen the path of exile, to return," the former civil servant turned self-declared president told several thousand cheering supporters near the presidential palace. "There will be no witch hunt, because we must establish tolerance, dialogue and forgiveness," he said. Though violence in the riverside capital has ebbed, Djotodia said looters would face justice and called for international help, particularly from former colonial master France. But the takeover has been condemned internationally. The African Union suspended Central African Republic and imposed sanctions on Seleka leaders, including Djotodia, this week. France and the United States say the rebels should adhere to a power-sharing deal signed in Gabon's capital Libreville in January that mapped out a transition to elections in 2016 in which Bozize was forbidden from running. Djotodia has pledged to act in the spirit of the agreement and said on Friday he would step down in 2016. But Washington on Saturday said Nicolas Tiangaye, named prime minister under the Libreville agreement, was now the only legal head of government. -- SPA 21:55 LOCAL TIME 18:55 GMT تغريد
