Bangui, after President Francois Bozize fled.
Witnesses reported gunfire as the Seleka rebel coalition took the
presidential palace, followed by chaos and looting in the city centre,
the BBC reports.
Seleka's secretary-general, Justin Kombo Moustapha, appealed for calm
and called on citizens to "welcome the revolutionary forces ofSeleka".
"Central African Republic has just opened a newpage in its history,"
he said in a statement.
Nelson Ndjadder of Seleka's CPSK faction saysthe country should now
move into a transition towards democratic elections.
"With the taking of Bangui and the departure ofBozize, the main
objective of our struggle has been realised," he says. "Central
Africans must meet around a table to decide the path for theircommon
future."
Mr Bozize - who came to power himself in a coupin 2003 - has
reportedly arrived with his family in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the Central African Republic's southern neighbour.
Power-sharing agreement collapsed
The rebels joined a power-sharing government inJanuary 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.
It is one of the poorest countries in Africa, despite its considerable
mineral resources.
South African peacekeepers in the country to support government troops
suffered casualties but failed to stop the rebel advance and have
retreated to their barracks.
France has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations
Security Council.
It has sent 350 soldiers to ensure the security of its citizens, a
senior official told AFP, bringing the total number of French troops
in CAR to nearly 600.
Source: thewill
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