Violence and sectarian fighting have abated in conflict-torn Central African Republic since the arrival of French peacekeepers in December, the head of the force said Sunday.

General Francisco Soriano also said the French forces had seized nearly 1,000 firearms and 4,000 other weapons such as knives and rods in the capital Bangui and across the country.

Three Muslim civilians in conflict-torn Central African Republic were shot dead on Saturday when the taxi carrying them was stopped by an angry mob, witnesses said.

The three men were travelling in the Combattant neighborhood near the airport in the capital Bangui, where French and African Union troops are headquartered.

Central African Republic President Catherine Samba Panza urged France on Friday "not to abandon" her country, as Paris prepares to vote on extending its military presence in the country.

"This is not the moment to abandon the Central African Republic," the interim president told Agence France Presse in an interview.

The Central African Republic's top Catholic and Muslim leaders said Friday that militiamen from both sides using churches and mosques as shelters should disarm or be disarmed.

The fresh cross-faith appeal to stop the looting and sectarian violence that has displaced close to a quarter of the total population in a year came after the U.N. called for more contributions to an overstretched peacekeeping force.

Around 28,000 people have fled from conflict-torn Central African Republic to neighboring Cameroon since the start of this month, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday.

"The new arrivals from CAR are living in appalling conditions. Most of them lack food and shelter," said Dan McNorton, spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).

UNICEF launched a record $2.2 billion aid appeal Friday to help tens of millions of children around the world, saying the lion's share was to deal with the Syria war.

"Children are always the most vulnerable group in emergencies, facing a high risk of violence, exploitation, disease and neglect," said Ted Chaiban, head of emergency operations at the U.N. children's agency.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Security Council Thursday called for a rapid reinforcement "of at least 3,000 troops" to Central African Republic to re-establish order and protect civilians.

Ban proposed the additional troops be sent "in the coming days or weeks," and urged they be equipped "with air mobility." The U.N. chief added: "We need more."

A man from the Central African Republic who stabbed a Russian diplomat and his wife in Khartoum has been jailed for three years, Russia's embassy in Sudan said on Wednesday.

The couple were attacked just outside their Khartoum diplomatic mission on January 28, in a rare example of violence against foreigners in Sudan.

Rockets and grenade explosions rocked the capital of the Central African Republic on Wednesday as international peacekeepers clashed with militias near the city's airport.

Heavy artillery fire could be heard in the morning near the airport in Bangui, where French and African forces have set up bases as they seek to subdue the mostly Christian anti-balaka militia terrorizing the Muslim population.

Eight people, including six civilians, have been killed in a firefight between African peacekeepers and fighters from the mainly Christian "anti-balaka" militia, a police source said Tuesday.

Troops of the MISCA African Union force clashed Sunday with anti-balaka militias at Cantonnier, near the border with Cameroon, a gendarmerie source in the western town of Bouar told AFP .