Mob Kills Three Muslim Civilians in C. Africa

Three Muslim civilians in conflict-torn Central African Republic were shot dead on Saturday when the taxi carrying them was stopped by an angry mob, witnesses said.

The three men were travelling in the Combattant neighborhood near the airport in the capital Bangui, where French and African Union troops are headquartered.

A crowd chanting anti-Muslim slogans forced their taxi to stop, and then killed them.

"It was extraordinarily violent. They were executed in cold blood," one witness told Agence France Presse.

A French army spokesman confirmed three bodies had been found in the area and said French troops had fired warning shots to force the crowd away from the corpses.

The bodies, which were later taken to the hospital morgue, bore bullet and machete wounds, an AFP correspondent said.

The Central African Republic has been torn by communal violence since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels overthrew the government in March 2013 and handed power to their leader, Michel Djotodia -- who was himself forced out last month for failing to rein in atrocities by his former fighters.

Violence has continued unabated since then, as vigilantes from the Christian majority have retaliated against the country's Muslims.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon called Thursday for at least 3,000 troops to reinforce the French and African soldiers, who have struggled to contain the bloodshed.