Catherine Samba-Panza elected Central African Republic’s interim president

Bangui, Central African Republic: The mayor of Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza, has been elected the interim president of the Central African Republic, making her the first woman to hold the post.

She beat her rival Desire Kolingba in the second round of voting by MPs.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting on Monday to send troops to CAR, diplomatic sources said.

Violence has continued, with two Muslim men killed and burnt in the capital Bangui on Sunday.

Nearly a million people have been forced from their homes - 20% of the population - by the conflict between Muslims and Christians.

Ex-leader Michel Djotodia resigned on 10 January under pressure from regional leaders and the former colonial power, France, over his failure to curb the conflict.

There are currently about 4,000 African troops and 1,600 French troops in CAR to help end the violence.

They will be bolstered by about 500 troops that EU foreign ministers have decided to deploy, AFP news agency reports.

Ms Samba-Panza and Mr Kolingba, son of a former president, were among eight candidates who contested the presidency.

About 129 members of the National Transitional Council, which serves as an acting parliament with 135 members in all, took part in the secret ballot, AFP reports.

Bodies buried

Mr Djotodia was the first Muslim to rule CAR, where most people are Christians.

His seized power in a rebellion last March, leading to attacks and counter-attacks between members of the two groups.

About 1,000 people were killed in December alone.

Although the clashes seemed to die down immediately after Mr Djotodia quit, reports emerged later in the week of more violence.

In Sunday's attack, a Christian mob killed two Muslims and set their bodies alight at a roundabout in the capital.

They told the BBC's Thomas Fessy in Bangui that they were avenging the murder of a Christian overnight. It is unclear whether the men had played any part or were targeted simply for being Muslim.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had taken 25 very seriously injured people to hospital in Bangui.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Geneva, it added that fresh inter-communal violence had flared up in north and north-western areas of the country.

Red Cross workers had buried 50 bodies discovered over the past 48 hours in the north-west, it said.

-BBC