Rebel Leader in CAR declares himself President until elections in 2016

The rebel leader who has declared himself president of the Central African Republic has announced a caretaker government in which he controls several ministries.

Michel Djotodia, who says he will run the country until elections in 2016, was greeted by hundreds of supporters in the capital, Bangui, on Saturday.
A week ago, he ousted President Francois Bozize, who fled the country.

Rebel fighters swept into Bangui after the collapse of a power-sharing deal.
The deposed president initially went to Cameroon before seeking asylum in Benin.

The make-up of the interim administration was broadcast in a decree on national radio.

Nicolas Tiangaye, an opposition figure who became prime minister under power-sharing accords signed in January, was to remain in the post.

Reports say eight other members of the former opposition will also be in the 34-member cabinet.

Mr Djotodia, the self-proclaimed president, will act as defence minister while several members of his Seleka rebel coalition will run other ministries.

At a rally on Saturday, CAR's new leader addressed supporters as his supporters paraded through the capital, firing into the air.

The rebels over-ran Bangui last weekend, in a move condemned by the United States as "illegitimate".

On Friday, the Red Cross said 78 bodies had been found. Thirteen South African soldiers lost their lives. They had been part of a 200-strong force fighting an estimated 3,000 rebels in the battle for Bangui.

South African newspapers reported on Sunday that some of the rebels whom the soldiers had been fighting were teenagers.

The rebels joined a power-sharing government in January after talks brokered by regional leaders to end a rebellion they launched last year.
But the deal quickly collapsed, with the rebels saying their demands, including the release of political prisoners, had not been met.

CAR, which has a population of about 4.5 million, has been hit by a series of rebellions since independence from France in 1960.

The country has large deposits of minerals including gold and diamonds but decades of conflict and mismanagement have left its people among the world's poorest

BBC NEWS