Deaths, displacement as battle in CAR escalate

At least 25 people have been killed in a series of clashes between armed groups over one week, in escalating violence in the Central African Republic.

The UN said on Tuesday that thousands of people continue to be uprooted and forced to flee for their lives in resurgent fighting between rival factions in various parts of the country.

If tensions continue to escalate, the UN warns, the country could fall into larger-scale conflict.

The UN's comments come days after human rights group Amnesty International warned that civilians in central areas of the country were enduring "a horrifying surge in torture, pillage and forced displacement".

On Wednesday, Lewis Mudge, a researcher with the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that "armed groups are more emboldened than ever to kill civilians, rape women and girls and destroy property. Displacement camps, places that are usually protected, are under attack".

"There are two main reasons for this uptick in violence: impunity for past crimes and a peacekeeping mission that is overstretched," Lewis said.

UCJ, UNILORIN.