BANGUI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African
Republic took control of the town of Sibut, 190 km (115 miles)
north of the capital Bangui, after national army and Chadian
soldiers stationed there withdrew, a resident and the head of
the pro-government youth movement said on Saturday.
"The rebels arrived at around 9 a.m. on two trucks and
several motorcycles and took positions at strategic points in
the town, firing their guns," said Yvon Jolier Bema, a Sibut
resident who fled to Bangui. "The national army and the Chadians
had left on Friday in the direction of Bangui."
Levi Yakite, the president of the Young Patriots movement
that has been organising near-daily anti-rebel marches in the
capital, confirmed Sibut was now occupied by the rebels in an
address on local radio.
(Reporting by Paul-Marin Ngoupana; Writing by Richard
Valdmanis; Editing by Alison Williams)