Rebels seize capital of Central African Republic Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of the country's riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, forcing President François Bozizé to flee into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, government officials said. The Seleka rebel coalition resumed hostilities this week in the mineral-rich former French colony, vowing to oust Bozize, whom it accused of breaking a January peace agreement to integrate its fighters into the army. "The rebels control the town," said presidency spokesman Gaston Mackouzangba. I hope there will not be any reprisals. Government spokesman Crepin Mboli-Goumba said the Seleka rebels controlled all the strategic locations in the city. A presidential advisor, who asked not to be named, said Bozizé had crossed the Oubangi river into Congo on Sunday morning as rebel forces headed for the presidential palace. Bozizé had seized power in a 2003 military coup. The palace has just fallen. We have the palace," Eric Massi, a spokesman for Seleka, told Reuters by telephone from Paris. The rebels fought their way to the northern suburbs of the riverside capital late on Saturday before an overnight lull in the fighting. But residents said heavy weapons fire erupted across the city around 8 a.m. The Seleka rebel coalition wants to organize a transition towards democratic elections in Central African Republic, a spokesman said Sunday. "With the taking of Bangui and the departure of Bozize, the main objective of our struggle has been realised," Nelson Ndjadder of Seleka's CPSK faction said in a statement. "Central Africans must meet around a table to decide the path for their common future, which will necessarily pass by a consensual management of the transition which, in time, will lead to the organisation of democratic elections," he said.