Hundreds killed in Central African Republic

Relatives of Thierry Tresor Zumbeti, who died from bullet wounds to the neck and stomach, grieve outside his home in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

The government of the majority Christian nation was overthrown by Muslim rebels nine months ago, setting off a wave of sectarian fighting that prompted France last week to deploy troops amid warnings its former colony is on the verge of genocide. The latest round of violence began Thursday, when armed Christian fighters attacked the capital and were later repelled by the ex-rebels. At least 400 people were killed in two days.

Christians fearing reprisal attacks from the Muslim ex-rebels who control Central African Republic fled on foot by the thousands Saturday, as others ventured outside for the first in time in days only to bury their dead.

WARNING: Some of the following images are violent or graphic in nature

Central African Republic

People crowd around bodies killed in fighting at a mosque in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 5, 2013.

Rival militia forces fought fierce battles in Central African Republic's capital on Thursday and the U.N. authorized French military action to halt Muslim-Christian sectarian violence that threatens to escalate into widespread civilian massacres.

Central African Republic

Wounded people wait for treatment at a hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 8, 2013.

French forces spread out across the town on Sunday, as Seleka forces kept their patrols despite an order to return to their barracks.

Red Cross officials say over 400 have died since Christian militias attacked the capital last Thursday. French President Francois Hollande announced Saturday that France was raising its deployment to 1,600 troops.

Central African Republic

Relatives of Thierry Tresor Zumbeti, who died from bullet wounds to the neck and stomach, grieve in his home in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

Suspected member of a Christian militia Sincere Banyodi, 32, lays wounded by machete blows in the Kokoro neighborhood of Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 9, 2013.

Vigilante crowds said they spotted him with grenades and turned him over to French forces.

Both Christian and Muslim mobs went on lynching sprees as French Forces deployed in the capital. French forces fired warning shots to disperse the crowds.

Central African Republic

A displaced child carries firewood in Bangui's monastery, where she and over 10,000 others found refuge in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 8, 2013.

Central African Republic

Muslim Peuls with bows and arrows make their way to a point outside of Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013, claiming they had to secure their neighborhood as no French forces were in sight.

Central African Republic

Relatives of Thierry Tresor Zumbeti, who died from bullet wounds to the neck and stomach, grieve outside his home in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

Women push a coffin in the streets of Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

French soldiers patrol on foot in Bangui, Dec. 8, 2013.

Central African Republic

Stephanie, an internally displaced woman who broke her ankle fleeing fighting, sits in the Don Bosco Center outside Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7 2013.

Central African Republic

Relatives of Thierry Tresor Zumbeti, who died from bullet wounds to the neck and stomach, grieve in his home in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

A French army patrol dismounts at the scene of sectarian violence in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

An internally displaced girl carries a child in the Don Bosco Center outside Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 7, 2013.

Central African Republic

A man holds an axe outside a mosque where bodies of people killed during fighting are gathered in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 5, 2013.

Central African Republic

A man detained by Seleka soldiers and accused by them of being an anti-balaka militia member, sits with other detainees in Bangui, Dec. 8, 2013.

Central African Republic

A displaced mother walks with her two children in Bangui's monastery, where she and over 10,000 others found refuge in Bangui, Central African Republic, Dec. 8, 2013.