The Central African Republic's mostly Muslim ex-rebels killed nearly 1000 people in the capital Bangui two weeks ago in a rampage avenging deadly Christian militia attacks, Amnesty International has said in a report.
The death toll was significantly higher than earlier estimates by the United Nations, which spoke of 450 killed in Bangui and another 150 elsewhere in the country.
The two-day spasm of violence by fighters from the former Seleka rebel group came after Christian militias known as "anti-balaka" (anti-machete) went door-to-door in some districts in the capital "and killed approximately 60 Muslim men," Amnesty said in a statement on Thursday.
"The de facto government forces, known as ex-Seleka, retaliated on a larger scale against Christians in the wake of the attack, killing nearly 1000 men over a two-day period and systematically looting civilian homes. A small number of women and children were also killed."
Its report was based on a two-week fact-finding mission to the Central African Republic, which has been mired in chaos since March, when Seleka took power and ousted the previous government.
