BANGUI, Central African Republic — Six Chadian soldiers from the African Union peacekeeping force were killed on Christmas Day in the Gobongo neighborhood of the capital, officials said.
Their destroyed car, with at least one body still inside, had not been removed a day later, underscoring how dangerous this nation has become, even for international forces tasked with pacifying it, said African Union spokesman Eloi Yao.
As the African Union was struggling to secure the crime scene, they discovered another: Close to the presidential palace, peacekeepers discovered a mass grave.
''We found around 20 bodies in a state of decomposition in an area that we call Panthers' Hill,'' Yao said.
The bodies were in civilian clothes, but officials are looking into whether they were fighters.
The Central African Republic has tilted to anarchy, as the Christian majority seeks revenge on Muslim rebels who took power in a coup nine months ago.