In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Jean-Yves Le Drian said an intelligence memo today described a mass grave of about 15 people outside the capital Bangui. He did not elaborate on where or who the victims were.
Since December, France has deployed 1,600 troops and a UN-backed coalition of African states has sent about 4,600 to help end violence between Christians and Muslims that has left hundreds dead.
Without France's deployment, Le Drian said, "it would have been massive massacres everywhere."
