Hollande: French troops to protect nationals in Central African Republic

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that troops in Central African Republic is tasked to protect French national, but not to intervene in the internal business of the African country, local channel i>TELE reported. "If we have a presence, it is not to protect a regime, it is to protect our nationals and our interests, and in no way to intervene in the internal affairs of a country, in this case Central Africa," the French head of state said during his morning tour to a food market outside Paris. Hollande said on Wednesday in a statement released by the Presidency that he had "asked the defense minister to take all measures to ensure the safety of the diplomatic compound and the protection of (French) nationals with the Central African authorities." According to the defense ministry, about 250 French soldiers who were deployed in the former French colony for a peacekeeping mission, have reinforced gendarmes already protecting the embassy. Hollande's remarks came after hundreds of people protested Wednesday outside the French embassy in Central African Republic, throwing stones at the building and tearing down the French flag, to vent anger at the lack of support by the former colonial power in fighting the advancing "SELEKA" rebel coalition. The protest came one day after the African country's government lost the central town of Kaga Bandoro to northern rebels, the latest in a series taken by Seleka fighters in the past weeks.