BANGUI, Central African Republic, Jan 14 AFP - A special session of parliament convened on Tuesday to elect a new interim president for the Central African Republic, as the country bids to put months of brutal bloodshed behind it.
Following a period of sectarian violence, including reports of cannibalism, life appeared to be gradually returning to usual in the poor, land-locked country of 4.6 million people.
The 135 members of the transitional ruling body (CNT) have two weeks to pick an interim leader after former president Michel Djotodia stepped down last week under international pressure.
Djotodia, the first Muslim leader of the mainly Christian country, failed to prevent sectarian violence in the wake of a March coup.
He proved unable to control his Seleka rebels who went on a spree of looting, killing and raping, sparking revenge attacks from Christian militias set up to defend against them.
However, in the wake of Djotodia's resignation, there have been scenes of reconciliation between former enemies in some areas and deserting police and soldiers have started to return to duty.
For the first time in weeks, police vehicles were patrolling the streets of the capital Bangui on Tuesday after a quiet night with no reports of looting.
According to political sources, about 10 people will be candidates to fill the void left by Djotodia, including present interim leader Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet.
However, whoever is elected will not be able to stand for elections due to be held no later than the first half of 2015.
Ten months of violence have displaced a fifth of the country's population, and the sectarian flare-up has killed more than 1000 people in the past month, despite a French military intervention and the presence of an African peacekeeping force.
