Red Cross on Wednesday said its workers had found 115 bodies in the Central African Republic's (CAR) border town of Bangassou after several days of militia attacks, raising by more than four times a previously reported death toll.

Antoine Mbao Bogo, the president of the aid group's local branch, told the Reuters news agency that those killed had "died in various ways", including from knives, clubs and bullet wounds.

"We found 115 bodies and 34 have been buried," he said from the capital, Bangui.

A senior UN official had previously reported 26 civilian deaths.

READ MORE: As many as 100 killed in CAR fighting

According to the UN refugee agency, the situation in Bangassou sent an estimated 2,750 refugees fleeing across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the weekend.

The violence represents a new escalation in a conflict that began in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters seized power and removed then-president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisal killings from Christian anti-Balaka militias.

The UN high commissioner for human rights warned on Tuesday the violence in areas previously spared major bloodshed was "highly worrying".

"The hard-earned relative calm in [the capital] Bangui and some of the bigger towns in CAR risks being eclipsed by the descent of some rural areas into increasing sectarian violence, with defenceless civilians - as usual - paying the highest price," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also said unverifiable figures indicate up to 100 people may have been killed in three days of clashes from May 7 to 9 in the town of Alindao between anti-Balaka fighters and an ex-Seleka group.</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>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.

"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."

A senior U.N. official had previously reported 26 civilian deaths. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)</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>Red Cross on Wednesday said its workers had found 115 bodies in the Central African Republic's border town of Bangassou after several days of militia attacks, raising by more than four times a previously reported death toll. Antoine Mbao Bogo, the president of the aid group's local branch, told the Reuters news agency that those killed had "died in various ways", including from knives, clubs and bullet wounds.

Start the conversation, or Read more at AllAfrica.com.</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.

Copyright The Eagle Online.

 Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.theeagleonline.com.ng as the source.</s>BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) - Fighting broke out in Central African Republic's northern town of Bria after several days of attacks in the southeastern city of Bangassou left at least 115 people dead, authorities said Wednesday.

The United Nations has warned that the sectarian violence that has plagued the country since late 2013 is now occurring in areas that previously had been spared.

The head of the Red Cross in Central African Republic, Antoine Mbao-Bogo, said his staff had counted 115 bodies in Bangassou after hundreds of militia fighters from a predominantly Christian group known as the anti-Balaka attacked a Muslim district and the U.N. peacekeeping base there over the weekend.

At least 50 others were injured, Mbao-Bogo said.

The U.N. reported more than 30 dead on Tuesday. Humanitarian agencies have called it incredibly difficult to retrieve corpses from the streets because of the ongoing insecurity.

The violence spread to Bria on Tuesday as fighting between the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and the anti-Balaka left at least five dead and 29 injured, U.N. mission spokesman Herve Verhoosel said Wednesday. Peacekeepers intervened to separate the groups and restore calm.

A resident said Seleka members tried to disarm anti-Balaka members in the center of town but other Christian rebels started shooting.

A series of attacks in remote areas of the country in the past week have forced more than 15,000 people from their homes. More than 200 people have been killed. Among the victims are six U.N. peacekeepers, marking the deadliest month for the mission since it arrived in 2014.</s>The United Nations, Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent have reached some besieged areas since the start of the cessation of hostilities deal, which has helped reduce violence in parts of western Syria.

But hundreds of thousands of Syrians across the country remain besieged by government forces or armed groups including Islamic State.

"The cessation of hostilities - honestly I don't see the difference. The hard to reach areas continue to be hard to reach, for several reasons: humanitarian negotiations, security, coordination on the ground, the procedures," International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said.

Krzysiek said a drop in violence had provided some respite in areas such as al-Houla in Homs province, where the Red Cross and Red Crescent made a rare aid delivery overnight.

But access is still not regular enough.

"Even if people... received aid before the winter, like six or seven months ago, those people consumed those supplies," he said. "We need to be given regular access," particularly to areas like al-Houla, where aid reached 70,000 people. (Reporting by John Davison)
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, at least 115 human bodies are discovered in the border town of Bangassou, more than previously thought. A few days prior, militias attacked the town, with the United Nations reporting that at least 26 people were killed.