Le Drian heads to Central African Republic amid massacre reports

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected Wednesday in the Central African Republic (CAR) amid emerging reports of a massacre of Muslim civilians by rival Christian militias.Defence Ministry sources confirmed Le Drian is on his way to Bangui on his third scheduled visit to the strife-ridden country, where fighting between mostly Muslim "Ex-Seleca" militias and rival Christian "Anti-Balaka" groups has led to thousands of deaths and made one million people refugees, or about a quarter of the population.Le Drian is currently on a tour of the Central African region.France has 1,600 troops on the ground in CAR alongside about 6,000 African peacekeepers in the "MISCA" operation.France deployed extra troops late last year to re-establish stability and help ease the Muslim groups from power after a coup d'{tat last year. But this did not settle the problem and Christian militias who have taken the ascendancy in the capital, Bangui, are now carrying out what some humanitarian groups are calling an "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims in the area.Fresh reports emerged Wednesday of massacres of Muslim civilians ahead of Le Drian's arrival in Bangui.The armed Muslim militias have withdrawn to the north of CAR and are no longer in a position to protect their populations in the capital and in the south. These militias have also been accused of atrocities while withdrawing to the north. The French commander on the spot in CAR has said that the Christian militias are the main obstacle to peace and atrocities and assassinations in Bangui are being blamed on them, and French forces have also seized large stocks of illegal weapons from the "Anti-Balaka" groups."Those who call themselves 'anti-balaka' have become the main enemy of peace in the Central African Republic," General Francisco Soriano, the French Commander told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.Le Drian is said to be gearing up for a crackdown on the mainly Christian militias who are destined to be disarmed like the operations carried out against the Ex-Seleca Muslims.Meanwhile, France said on Tuesday that it was not planning to send extra forces to CAR, but UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has urged Paris to send additional forces along with the 600-man European Union deployment expected over the coming weeks and months.