At least 26 people have been killed, and many more wounded, in a massacre representing one of the biggest single losses of life in the Central African Republic (CAR) since a February peace deal.

The UN’s peacekeeping mission in CAR (Minusca) reported on Wednesday that Tuesday’s slaughter took place after an armed group called 3R attacked two villages Koundjili and Djoumjoum, in the north-west of the country.

The slaughter was the biggest single loss of life since the government and 14 militias signed a deal in February aimed at restoring peace to one of Africa’s most troubled countries, the East African reported.

There are now unconfirmed reports from the area that anti-balaka militias are mobilising to protect Christians and animists from attacks by Muslim groups.

In another incident, the Vatican reported simultaneously that a French-Spanish nun had been decapitated in a village in south-western CAR where she taught sewing to young girls.

The 3R group takes its initials from three words in French meaning “Return, Reclamation and Reconciliation”. It claims to represent the Fulani, one of the CAR’s many ethnic groups.

In February the militia was one of the 14 groups that signed the February 6 peace accord – the eighth attempt to end violence in CAR – in which the government gave key positions to warlords and agreed to set up mixed units of regular troops and militiamen.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android. </s> BANGUI (Reuters) - An armed militia killed 34 civilians in an attack on Tuesday in Central African Republic, a government spokesman said, issuing a deadline for the group’s leader to give up the perpetrators to the authorities.

The attack was the most deadly since 14 armed groups agreed a peace deal in February that was meant to bring stability to a country rocked by violence since 2013, when mainly Muslim Selaka rebels ousted the then president, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militia.

The group ‘Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation,’ or 3R, attacked a number of villages in the northwest region Pahoua, seeking revenge for the killing of an ethnic Peul, government spokesman Ange Kazagui said at a joint briefing on Wednesday with the United Nation’s MINUSCA peacekeeping mission.

The government calls on 3R leader Sidiki Abass to “arrest and hand over those responsible for this massacre to the authorities in the next 72 hours or risk being held personally responsible”, Kazagui said.

The bloodshed will further test the peace agreement, which has already come under strain due to disagreements over representation in the cabinet.

“MINUSCA asks 3R in particular and all the armed groups in general to show strict respect for international human rights and the reconciliation and peace agreement,” MINUSCA spokeswoman Uwolowulakana Ikavi-Gbetanou said at the briefing.

The government and rebels expressed optimism when the accord was signed on Feb. 5. But lasting peace is not guaranteed: similar agreements in 2014, 2015 and 2017 all broke down.

The 3R group emerged in late 2015 to protect the minority Peul population, who are mostly Muslim cattle herders, from attacks by Christian anti-balaka militias.

Thousands of people have died because of the unrest in the diamond and gold-producing country, and a fifth of the 4.5 million population have fled their homes. </s> Congolese soldiers kill at least 101 in militia clashes -U.N.

GENEVA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Soldiers targeting the Kamwina Nsapu militia group in central Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 101 people between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13, including 39 women, the U.N. said on Tuesday.

The soldiers fired indiscriminately with machine guns when they saw the militia fighters, who were armed mainly with machetes and spears, human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said, citing sources in the country.

"We are deeply concerned at the reported high number of deaths, which if confirmed would suggest excessive and disproportionate use of force by the soldiers," she said. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Louise Ireland) </s> DAKAR, May 17 (Reuters) - Red Cross workers have found 115 bodies in Central African Republic's diamond-mining town of Bangassou after several days of militia attacks, the president of the aid group's local branch said on Wednesday.

The battle for control of the town marks a new escalation in a conflict that began in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters ousted then-President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisal killings from Christian militias.

Recent clashes have centred on diamond-rich central and southern areas of the country, with rival militias battling among themselves to control them, aid workers say.

"We found 115 bodies and 34 have been buried," Antoine Mbao Bogo told Reuters by phone from the capital Bangui. "They died in various ways: from knives, from clubs and bullet wounds."

Hundreds of militia with heavy weaponry seized the southeastern border town of Bangassou at the weekend and U.N. peacekeepers have since then been trying to wrest it back.

The deployment of extra U.N. troops and air strikes have helped peacekeepers regain control of strategic points, U.N. spokesman Herve Verhoosel said on Wednesday.

Clashes between militias in the central town of Bria have killed five people, he added. The U.N. is also seeking to verify the deaths of up to 100 people in the town of Alindao. (Reporting by Emma Farge; additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Richard Lough) </s> GENEVA: Soldiers targeting the Kamwina Nsapu militia group in central Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 101 people between Feb. 9 and Feb. 13, including 39 women, the U.N. said on Tuesday.

The soldiers fired indiscriminately with machine guns when they saw the militia fighters, who were armed mainly with machetes and spears, human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said, citing sources in the country.

"We are deeply concerned at the reported high number of deaths, which if confirmed would suggest excessive and disproportionate use of force by the soldiers," she said. </s> The Red Cross in Central African Republic says at least 115 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in several days of attacks in the southeastern town of Bangassou.

Local Red Cross official Antoine Mbao-Bogo said Wednesday that 37 bodies have been buried and funerals continue. Hundreds of militia fighters from a predominantly Christian group known as the anti-Balaka attacked the town and the United Nations peacekeeping base there over the weekend.

The U.N. mission says tensions have reached the northern town of Bria, where fighting Tuesday between mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and anti-Balaka has killed at least five and injured 29. Peacekeepers have intervened to separate the groups.

A series of attacks in remote areas this past week have forced more than 15,000 people from their homes. </s> An ethnic Nande militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed about 30 civilians, mostly Hutus, on Sunday morning, local sources said, in an apparent escalation of deadly violence between the two groups that has flared repeatedly this year.

Joy Bokelele, territorial administrator in North Kivu province's Lubero territory, told Reuters that fighters from the Mai Mai Mazembe militia attacked the village of Luhanga around 5 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) with guns and machetes. </s> At least 23 civilians were killed in central Mali after armed men attacked three Fulani communities, a local mayor and security forces said Monday.

Reuters news agency also reported that some 300 people were missing following the attacks.

"During Sunday, and overnight, in the villages of Bidi, Sankoro and Saran, armed men attacked civilians, killing 23 of them," Cheick Harouna Sankare, mayor of the neighboring town of Ouenkoro.

After raiding the village of Saran, the attackers went on to Bidi, but people had already fled, said Harouna Sankare, who blamed the attack on Dogon hunters.

"Since they didn't find anybody [in Bidi], they burned the village and the houses and attacked the cattle," he said.

The attacks come following a wave of deadly assaults between Fulani herders and Dogon farmers who have long fought over land and resources.

The rivalry has escalated in recent years due to the growing presence of armed Islamist groups.

Read more: Mali: 'Worse than anything we’ve seen in living memory'

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's government has promised to disarm the militias but has so far struggled to do so.

Tit-for-tat violence between the rival communities has increased this year. In March, suspected Dogon militiamen killed more than 150 Fulani in central Mali in one of the most violent attacks in the country's recent history. Raids on Dogon villages in June killed over 40 people.

Read more: Mali's security crisis: A cycle of exploitation and corruption

In other parts of central Mali, 12 civilians including a baby were killed on Sunday when the vehicle they were traveling in struck a landmine. Local mayor Issiaka Ganame told Reuters news agency that none of the passengers survived.

It was not clear who laid the mine, but jihadist groups have been known to deploy this kind of ordnance in the region.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> There has been ongoing fight over the mining sites

Red Cross workers have found 115 bodies in Central African Republic’s diamond-mining town of Bangassou after several days of militia attacks, the president of the aid group’s local branch said on Wednesday.

The battle for control of the town marks a new escalation in a conflict that began in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters ousted then-President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisal killings from Christian militias.

Aid workers say recent clashes have centered on diamond-rich central and southern areas of the country, with rival militias battling among themselves to control them.

Antoine Mbao Bogo told Reuters by phone: “We found 115 bodies and 34 have been buried.

“They died in various ways: from knives, from clubs and bullet wounds.”

Hundreds of militia with heavy weaponry seized the southeastern border town of Bangassou at the weekend and UN peacekeepers have since then been trying to wrest it back.

The world body spokesperson Herve Verhoosel said on Wednesday that deployment of extra UN troops and air strikes have helped peacekeepers regain control of strategic points.

He added that clashes between militias in the central town of Bria have killed five people.

The UN is also seeking to verify the deaths of up to 100 people in the town of Alindao.

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Armed militias kill over 30 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks since a peace deal was reached back in February of this year.