Two French soldiers have been killed in the Central African Republic, the French presidency announced on Tuesday, as French and African Union troops lead a UN-backed military operation aimed at halting inter-religious violence in the country, reports FRANCE 24.
Nicolas Vokaer, 23, and Antoine Le Quinio, 22, were killed in a short-range firefight near the airport in Bangui, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement. Both parachutists were taken for medical treatment but later died of their injuries.
President François Hollande arrived in the conflict-torn nation on Tuesday evening after he attended a memorial service for South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela in Soweto, Hollande’s office announced. Hollande called for swift elections in the country in an interview last week with FRANCE 24.
Their deaths come a day after French troops began disarming militias in the troubled nation.
The former French colony slipped into chaos after Muslim Seleka rebels ousted president François Bozizé in a March coup, leading to outbreaks of inter-religious violence with militias from the country’s Christian majority.
The leader of the now-disbanded Seleka rebel alliance, Michel Djotodia, serves as interim president, the country’s first Muslim leader.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.