Grenade kills child in CAR

A child was killed and ten other people were badly injured on Thursday when a grenade exploded in the capital of Central African Republic, Bangui.

The grenade went off when the boy opened an abandoned bag lying on a bridge in the Yapele neighbourhood of Bangui, according to witnesses. The child was killed immediately, while the injured were brought to a nearby hospital.

CAR has been in turmoil since the Islamist Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize, a Christian, in March 2013. About 2 000 French and 6 500 African forces are battling to contain the violence in the former French colony.

Thousands of people are reported to have been killed in fighting and about a million displaced.