{{UN envoy to the Central African Republic has urged the country to “make an example” of soldiers who lynched a man accused of being a rebel.}}
The man was stabbed and beaten to death and then his body was burned in the capital, Bangui.
It happened just moments after interim President Catherine Samba-Panza finished speaking at an army ceremony.
Separately, France says its peacekeeping forces are now likely to stay for longer than six months.
The lynching is the latest in a series of shocking acts in CAR which have continued despite the resignation of a former rebel who seized power last year.
Much of the violence has been along religious lines, between minority Muslims and Christian groups.
‘Horrific attacks’
UN envoy Babacar Gaye said the killing of the man was “unacceptable” and “must be properly investigated and the culprits punished and made an example of”.
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The man, suspected of being part of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels, was killed in view of several photographers and as African Union peacekeepers looked on.
“This situation is an illustration of the fact that the population, they have lost their references. It is all the more worrisome that it happened within a community that has the responsibility to hold the weapons of the country and to protect the population,” Gen Gaye told the BBC’s Focus on Africa TV programme.
For such situations to stop, a “comprehensive approach” was needed, involving restoring the country’s security forces, a reconciliation process, the resumption of economic life and having impartial international forces on the ground, he said.
Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drians says his country’s peacekeeping forces are likely to stay in CAR for more than the six months they initially planned to remain.
The UN Security Council authorised French and African troops to intervene in the country last December.
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch warned that Seleka fighters who had fled the capital Bangui had regrouped in the north-east and started attacking civilians.
The militants were engaging in “a new wave of horrific attacks against civilians”, the charity said. It added that in some cases, Seleka were being helped by Chadian peacekeepers.
Thousands of people have been killed in CAR since Seleka rebels overthrew President Francois Bozize last March.
{BBC}
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