100 dead in Central African Republic town, says mayor

Clashes between armed groups in the Central African Republic town of Bria have left at least 100 people dead in the wake of a peace agreement signed this week in Rome that called for an immediate cease-fire, officials said on Wednesday. Security remained so precarious that Red Cross teams could not venture into the streets to collect bodies for burial. “For the moment, no one dares to go out as everything suggests that fighting can resume at any time,” said Gildas Gbeni of the St. Louis Catholic mission in Bria. Mayor Maurice Balekouzou and others put the preliminary death toll at around 100, while several dozen wounded were seeking treatment at the local hospital run by aid group Doctors Without Borders.