The Seleka, a coalition of rebel groups that took power in the Central African Republic (CAR) in March, shoots, loots and rapes with "complete impunity," Human Rights Watch has said.

In a report released on Wednesday, the rights organization said the rebels have embarked on a reign of terror, and urged the United Nations and African states to take a tougher line with the transitional government, AFP reported.

"With no checks on their power, the Seleka rule arbitrarily and with complete impunity," said the report, which detailed scores of killings of women, children and the elderly by the rebels.


The report, titled "I Can Still Smell The Dead," also alleged that the rebels engaged in wanton destruction of homes and villages.

Seleka leaders "talk openly" about the way they kill people and burn villages, said Lewis Mudge, who wrote the report.

The report said interim President Michel Djotodia, a former Seleka leader, had denied the rebels were involved in the violence against people, and put the blame on the followers of former President Francois Bozize or "fake Seleka."

Djotodia announced on Friday that the Seleka rebel group had been dissolved, without saying how he would disarm the group.

"The Seleka Coalition is dissolved over the length and breadth of the Central African Republic's territory. Only the Central African security force is in charge of protecting our territorial integrity," the new president said in a statement.

"Any individual or group of individuals who acts in the name of Seleka after the publication of the present decree... will incur the full sanctions under the law," it added.