Central African parliament summoned by African leaders in Chad

The Central African Republic's entire parliament flew to Chad on Thursday after being summoned by African leaders holding a special summit aimed at restoring peace in the restive country. All 135 lawmakers gathered in N'Djamena where they are expected to discuss the fate of rebel-turned-president Michel Djotodia, under fire for failing to prevent sectarian violence from tearing apart the country. African leaders meeting on the crisis suspended the talks on Thursday as they awaited the arrival of the lawmakers, whose vote is crucial for any change in the institutions of CAR's transitional government. As discussions resumed, regional leaders met with the lawmakers while Djotodia left the room to hold talks with allies from his former Seleka rebel alliance which seized power in March last year, plunging his country into crisis. Allami Ahmat, the secretary-general of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) earlier told journalists talks had been dominated by discussions over the fate of CAR's interim authorities. The African leaders' principal concern is the Bangui government's failure to stem the widespread bloodshed that has broken out between mainly Muslim former rebels and self-defence militias formed by the Christian majority. "The solution must come from the Central Africans themselves," Ahmat said. "Neither ECCAS nor the international community have come to change the regime.... It is up to those responsible (in CAR) to decide the fate of their country." 'Decisions to be made' Chad's President Idriss Deby, a powerful influence over events in the CAR, opened the meeting with a call for "concrete and decisive action" to halt the violence that has killed more than 1,000 people in the past month. Deby, who chairs the 10-nation ECCAS, said the regional grouping had a duty "to show solidarity and determination to pull Central Africa back from the abyss". France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said African leaders would be taking "decisions" on the future of Djotodia, a foe of toppled president Francois Bozize, whose ouster in a coup last March sparked the current unrest. "There are certainly decisions to be made, with regard to the political transition and the fact the state is paralysed. We shall see what our African friends decide," Fabius told France 2 television on Thursday. "It is not France's place to dictate decisions. We are here to offer support," added Fabius, whose country last month deployed 1,600 troops alongside an African peacekeeping force in its former colony. In Bangui, the Central African communications minister slapped down any talk of Djotodia's departure, saying it would only worsen the crisis. But the former rebel has himself said he does "not want to stay in power". The talks, which also include the CAR Prime Minister Nicolas Tiengaye are expected to take place through the night to Friday, Chadian sources said. The CAR sank into chaos after rebels of the Seleka coalition ended Bozize's 10-year rule and installed Djotodia as the first Muslim president in the overwhelmingly Christian country. Djotodia has since officially disbanded the rebels, but has proven unable to stop them going rogue. His former fighters went on killing, raping and pillaging, prompting Christians to form vigilante groups in response and sparking a deadly cycle of revenge attacks. Fears of unrest spreading There are fears the unrest is spreading through the region with the United Nations warning that both Seleka rebels and former CAR soldiers have crossed into the volatile Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are sending people fleeing. Many former CAR soldiers fled their home country when the Seleka rebels launched their coup. The rebels in turn were pushed out when French and African peacekeepers arrived in the CAR in December. Although mass slaughters have mostly ceased amid frequent patrols by the peacekeepers, sporadic killings carry on almost every night. A humanitarian disaster is also looming with 100,000 people who fled their homes crammed into a tent city near Bangui airport, close to the peacekeepers' bases. While the international military operation in the CAR has somewhat halted the slide into deeper conflict, there is no sustainable political solution in sight. Under international pressure, Djotodia has pledged not to stand for presidential elections expected by the end of 2014 or early 2015. Current political agreements ban those in power during the transition from standing in future elections, and that in turn has stalled bids for a national unity transitional government as all the leaders of political parties have refused to participate. Amid the deadlock, EU nations are considering whether to join in the French and African operations in the CAR, with a meeting on the issue scheduled for Friday. Aid agencies are also battling to contain a humanitarian crisis in the landlocked country. UNICEF has warned of a potential disaster in overcrowded camps in the capital, where there have been several cases of measles.