BANGUI: At least two people died in clashes between gangs and militias in Central African Republic’s capital, where peacekeepers and pressure from international leaders have failed to halt more than two years of violence, witnesses said.

Mourners brought one of the bodies to Bangui’s main morgue in a cart early on Wednesday, the latest victim in a five-day outburst of fighting between UN peacekeepers and Christian, Muslim and other groups, the worst the city has seen this year.

The fresh violence has raised doubts about plans to hold elections on Oct. 18, meant to restore democracy in an impoverished country at the heart one of Africa’s most combustible regions following a rebellion and years of turmoil.

One of the dead was killed in a mainly Muslim district and the other in a clash near the airport, witnesses said, without giving further details.

Officials say at least 39 people have died since Saturday, but streets appeared calmer on Wednesday.

Mostly Muslim rebels, united under the umbrella group Seleka, seized power in the mostly Christian country in 2013.

Seleka stepped aside the next year, under pressure from the United Nations and former colonial ruler France, clearing the way for an interim government led by President Catherine Samba-Panza. But reprisals and counter-attacks have continued.