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U.N. worker kidnapped in Central African Republic - mission


    BANGUI (Reuters) - Armed men kidnapped a woman working for the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSCA in Central African Republic's capital Bangui on Tuesday, the mission told Reuters.

    The abduction came a day after a French charity worker and a churchman were seized in an area of the city controlled by anti-balaka militia fighters. The militia demanded the release of one of its leaders who has been arrested for crimes including murder.

    "Unidentified armed men kidnapped on Tuesday a woman who works for MINUSCA after having stopped the vehicle in which she was travelling. A similar kidnap attempt failed just a bit earlier," said MINUSCA in a statement.

    The country sank into chaos when the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel umbrella group seized power in the majority Christian state in March 2013, ousting President Francois Bozize.

    A backlash from the mostly Christian or animist "anti-balaka" militia led to violence that has killed thousands and displaced around 1 million people.

    (Reporting by Crispin Dembassa-Kette; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Andrew Heavens)