Militants killed two police officers in the Central African Republic town of Bambari ahead of a scheduled visit by the country’s President, the government said. The attack came a day after President Faustin-Archange Touadera announced a date for African Union-brokered peace talks with armed groups who control most of the CAR.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had treated 30 people for bullet wounds, while local media reported 10 people killed, however this information was impossible to verify.

United Nationas MINUSCA sent peacekeepers to the site of the clashes, spokesman Vladimir Monteiro said. Its troops there had come under fire a day earlier, he added.

According to an internal UN report a militant called “General Bello,” in charge of UPC fighters in Bambari, had been wounded. Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), has been dominant around Bambari.

Portuguese peacekeepers battled for five hours to protect civilians and restore order after militants killed two police officers in Bambari ahead of a scheduled visit by the country’s president on Thursday, January 10.