CAR: Militia kidnaps sports minister

Bangui - The wife of a minister in Central African Republic's transitional government says her husband has been kidnapped by armed men believed to belong to the Christian anti-Balaka militia group.

Nicaise Danielle Sayo said her husband, Armel Mingatoloum Sayo, minister of youth and sports, was taken from his car while the couple was returning from church on Sunday morning. She said the assailants sped off in an unmarked taxi.

Central African Republic was hit by unprecedented sectarian violence about a year ago when the anti-Balaka militia was formed to combat a Muslim rebel coalition that had taken control of the country.

Last week, anti-Balaka fighters kidnapped and later released a Kurdish female UN staffer as well as a French aid worker and her Central African colleague.