UN sanctions on Central Africa expected tomorrow: France

The UN Security Council is tomorrow expected to adopt a resolution on sanctions against those fomenting violence in the Central African Republic, the French foreign ministry said.

"These sanctions will target individuals who harm peace and stability and hinder the process of political transition in the Central African Republic by fuelling violence," spokesman Romain Nadal said.

Nadal said the Council would send a "very strong message to people blocking the joint efforts of the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union to re-establish stability in the Central African Republic."

He said this was being done "at France's initiative," adding that Paris also wanted sanctions and legal proceedings against those guilty of violating human rights in the restive nation.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had said yesterday that Washington was weighing "targeted" sanctions against those stoking violence there.

The appointment of new interim President Catherine Samba Panza on Thursday has not quelled months of bloodshed between Muslims and Christians in the former French colony following a coup.

Outside the capital, warlords control large swathes of the country, a land-locked state among the poorest in the world.

The country's history of coups and rebellions since independence in 1960 has kept it mired in poverty and instability despite its mining and agricultural potential.