C. African Republic president flees capital

BANGUI - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize fled the presidential palace in the capital Bangui, where rebels declared control and their triumph on Sunday after months of southward push.

"The Rebels control the town... I hope there will not be any reprisals," presidency spokesman Gaston Mackouzangba admitted in the day.

"We have taken the presidential palace. Bozize was not there, " Djouma Narkoyo, one of the rebel commanders, announced on behalf of Seleka, a loose coalition of five factions.

Chinese Ambassador to Central African Republic Sun Haichao told Xinhua on Sunday afternoon that the more than 60 Chinese nationals in Bangui would leave within the day.

China evacuated most of its citizens from the land-locked country at the end of last year, before the warring sides signed a truce in January 2013 in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

Bozize's whereabouts remain unknown although speculation runs high that he might have fled into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) early Sunday, as Bangui borders its southern neighbor across the Oubangui River.

Kinshasa, however, denied the allegation on Saturday afternoon. "President Bozize did not ask to come to our country," Lambert Mende, the spokesman of DR Cong, told Xinhua, in response to reports that the Congolese government had asked the UN refugee agency UNHCR to help transport Bozize's family through the border town.

Rampant lootings were reported by some residents in Bangui after rebels entered the capital on Saturday.

Looters took advantage of the mess created by the fighting between rebels and government troops, several sources told Xinhua.

The reports confirmed fear expressed by residents about the aftermath of the fall of Bangui.

"Seleka leaders employ many mercenaries who have records of looting big cities they have taken. We are worried about the same thing here in Bangui, " a resident Pierre Marcel Kamba told Xinhua on Saturday.

Amid grave concern about a state of anarchy, France says its has sent 350 troops to its former colony, where it now has 600 military personnel.

It is yet to see how Paris will deal with Seleka after its military intervention drove Al-Qaida linked rebels out of major towns in northern Mali in January.

Seleka launched a lightening blitz this week after giving the government a deadline to honor a peace deal signed in January to release political prisoners, integrate rebels into the national army and pull out South African and Ugandan troops deployed in the country to protect the Bangui-based government.

The rebels opened a second front northwest of Bangui after capturing Bossembele, while the bulk of Seleka fighters claimed control of Bossangoa and Damara, 75 km from Bangui, which had been seen as a "red line" before the signing of the Libreville accord.

There were no reports of resistance when rebels overran both towns despite the deployment of troops from the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) between Bangui and Seleka fighters.

Fierce fight erupted between South African troops and rebels on Saturday at the entrance of Bangui, 12 km away from downtown.

South African troops sent to Bangui for the military training of local soldiers admitted casualties after two days of fighting with advancing rebels.

Seleka launched an insurgency on December 10, 2012, accusing Bozize of failing to implement a series of peace accords signed in Libreville since 2007.

With the mediation of regional countries, the rival sides again went to Libreville on January 11 to sign another agreement to end the crisis, under which Bozize, who came to power in 2003 in a military coup, will have no part in the next presidential election while allowed to finish his current term of office.

A new government of national unity was formed under Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye in February.

The government called for dialogue after Seleka detained five cabinet ministers day ago during their visit to Sibut, a transportation hub 180 km from Bangui. The call was ignored by rebels who resumed fighting after their ultimatum given to the government expired.

Central African Republic, a country of 5 million population, has been haunted by instability and poverty since its independence from France in 1960. It is listed by the United Nations as one of the poorest in the world despite its rich resources.