Central African republic president resigns

Central African Republic (CAR) President Michel Djotodia has resigned under intense pressure over his failure to stem the sectarian unrest ripping his country apart, a regional grouping announced on Friday.African leaders meeting in neighboring Chad to seek a solution to the crisis said they had "noted the resignation" of Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye, whose notoriously fractious relationship with the president had led to political paralysis.Djotodia was under intense pressure from his peers, who gathered in Chad Thursday, January 9, in a bid to end the violence that has seen more than 1,000 people killed in December 2013 alone. All 135 lawmakers from the landlocked CAR had flown to Chad on Thursday, January 9, at the behest of Chadian President Idriss Deby to try to resolve the crisis as it threatened to spill over into neighboring countries.Djotodia has come under fire for failing to stem the spiraling violence between the mainly Muslim former rebels who brought him to power in 2013 and militias formed by the Christian majority.Earlier Friday, thousands of residents in the Central African capital Bangui took to the streets demanding Djotodia's departure.