:
Central African Republic (CAR) Government troops retook the town of Damara (about 50 miles northeast of the capital), after a six-hour battle on 7 December against Bozize rebels. The locals claimed that Libyan troops and Congolese MLC rebels assisted the CAR units.
CAR residents have no love for their Congolese neighbors. On 5 December, angry residents of one of the capital's northern suburbs set up roadblocks. This protest against Congolese rebels knocking over three children had to be subdued by Government security forces, who fired into the air from 02:00 to 05:00. Anti-Congolese feelings have prompted at least 1,500 native traders to return to their Congo homelands. - Adam Geibel