TotalUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at the headquarters of the National Transitional Council of the Central African Republic in the capital Bangui in 2014. (Source: AFP/VNA)

The United Nations has established a “weapons-free zone” in the Central African Republic town of Bambari to protect civilians from armed groups involved in sectarian clashes last month that left more than 10 people dead, Reuters reported.

Fighting in the town of Bambari - a stronghold of the Seleka Muslim rebels - broke out when members of a Christian "anti-balaka" militia beheaded a Muslim youth, leading to reprisals by Muslim gunmen.

Speaking during a visit to the Central African Republic, the head of the peacekeeping force, Herve Ladsous, said: "(The United Nations) has decided to establish a weapons-free zone in Bambari to ensure security and freedom of movement of people and to facilitate access for humanitarian aid workers."

Thousands of people have been killed and more than 800,000 displaced by violence in the Central African Republic in the past two years after the Seleka Islamist rebels seized control of the predominantly Christian country in 2013./.

According to VN+