Thousands of Muslims have fled northeast from the capital towards the border with Chad, creating a de facto division of the country which the U.N. human rights chief has said now faces "ethnic-religious cleansing". President Francois Hollande told the Central African Republic on Friday that French troops stationed there would work to stop the country splitting in two and disarm militias and bandits fighting local Muslims. Arriving in Bangui from Nigeria, where he attended an event marking the centenary of its unification, Hollande met interim President Catherine Samba-Panza and addressed French troops. France's parliament voted on Tuesday to extend the troops' mission, despite tepid popular support at home for a military operation in the former French colony where thousands of people have been killed and around a million forced from their homes. France sent troops four months ago - its force now numbers 2,000. "In the east and the north, we need to stop score-settling, establish the authority of government, allow it to engage in dialogue and avoid any temptation to partition the east of the Central African Republic," Hollande told French soldiers in a helicopter hangar at the airport in the capital Bangui. He also said French troops would disarm militias and bandits that were "terrorising the Muslim population". The anti-balaka have been following the Muslims and monitoring their positions and try to attack them as they move. -- SPA 22:45 LOCAL TIME 19:45 GMT تغريد
