Pope says he will discuss peace in CAR with Obama Thursday

Francis meets religious leaders from Central African Republic

(ANSA) - Vatican City, March 26 - Pope Francis on Wednesday met with the three top religious leaders of the Central African Republic (CAR), an impoverished and land-locked nation where sectarian violence has been raging since an armed Islamist insurrection attacked the majority Christian population.

Francis met with the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Protestant Pastor Nicolas Grékoyamé-Gbangou, leader of all the Protestant churches in CAR, and the Muslim Imam of Bangui, Oumar Kobine Layama.

The three leaders have formed a "platform for peace" and have taken an international mission on behalf of their war-torn country that has included meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon in New York.

Francis encouraged the trio to maintain unity, remain close to their people, and work to overcome sectarian hatred in CAR.

He also told them he would bring up the situation in their country in his meeting with United States President Barack Obama on Thursday at the Holy See, Vatican Radio reported.

CAR plunged into chaos when a coalition of Islamist rebel groups seized power in December 2012. Their rule has been marked by a campaign of looting, rape, and murder against the majority Christian population, triggering waves of revenge killings that left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Under intense international pressure, the former rebels quit power in January, when they were replaced by an interim civilian government. But it has been powerless to halt attacks on Muslims, in spite of the deployment of 2,000 French soldiers and a 6,000-strong African Union peacekeeping mission.