This was the second armed incident in two days after a Portuguese patrol was attacked by “armed men” on Tuesday also in the centre of Bambari.

Wednesday’s incident occurred on the journey from the Portuguese camp to the location of the incident they were called to. The paratroopers “were received with intense enemy fire from various directions and fought off the members of the armed groups".

"Various Portuguese vehicles were hit and damaged", but there were no injuries among the Portuguese soldiers, the army said in a communiqué.

The fighting lasted for about five hours and the Portuguese troops managed to stop the armed Anti-balaka fighters from entering the city centre.