French troops have come under attack from some 40 armed unidentified gunmen in the northwest of Central African Republic (CAR), French army sources say.

Military officials in Paris say around 40 fighters attacked the French soldiers with heavy arms, mortars and anti-tank missiles.

"Elements of the Sangaris [French] force were attacked by a group of 40 heavily armed individuals," army spokesman Gilles Jaron said in Paris on Tuesday.

The attack triggered clashes which lasted for hours. The battle took place on a road leading to the village of Boguila in the northwest.

This is while, Paris says the fighting has left a number of fighters dead but that there has been no casualties on the French side.

"The clashes lasted three hours and some of them were destroyed - killed or injured. The others escaped."Jaron added.

France has deployed about two thousand troops to curb sectarian violence in the Central African Republic. But deadly violence has escalated following the deployment.

The CAR has long been the scene of sectarian violence committed by anti-Balaka militias. The crisis since last year has forced the Muslim minority population to abandon their homes and flee.

This comes as rights groups and international bodies have expressed serious concerns over the ongoing violence against Muslims in the war-ravaged country.

The conflict in the CAR erupted after Christian militiamen launched coordinated attacks on the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government last March.

Christian militiamen, however, have been targeting the Muslim population as a whole.

Thousands of people have been killed in the ongoing violence across the African country in recent months.

French and African peacekeepers are on the ground in the country, but they have been unable to stop the violence and even in some occasions accused of killing Muslims there.