By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic attacked a town used as a hub by Western aid agencies in the violent Chad border area after blowing up a bridge to hinder army reinforcements, a military officer said on Tuesday. The impoverished former French colony has seen a succession of armed uprisings in recent years, and violence has worsened in the past few months as a spreading cycle of conflict from Chad and Sudan's Darfur region has engulfed its northern border zone. An army officer who identified himself only as Lieutenant Gatiga said rebels calling themselves the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy had attacked the town of Paoua, around 400 km (250 miles) from the capital Bangui, on Saturday. Gatiga said the attackers had blown up a bridge in the village of Letele beforehand to slow army reinforcements sent from the larger town of Bozoum, 100 km (60 miles) to the south. "They thought they would surprise us, but we surprised them, (sending) them back into the bush with several dead. As for our men, we only had three wounded," he told Reuters in Bangui. Gatiga's account could not be independently verified, and there was no indication of the extent of the attack. Land lines and mobile telephone links, often poor across the country, were not working between Bangui and Paoua. The town is used by international aid agencies as a hub for distributing food and other supplies to tens of thousands of people forced from their homes by months of violence. A foreign aid worker in the capital Bangui confirmed the weekend attack, but could not be sure who was responsible. "We're not sure who came in, who they are," said the aid worker, who did not wish to be identified. Bands of rebels or armed bandits frequently raid villages and settlements in the area, stocking up on food and other supplies and looting whatever valuables they find. Reporters travelling to the area in November found traumatised villagers living on wild roots in the bush, running away every time they heard a motor vehicle in case it heralded another attack by gunmen who tend to travel in pick-up trucks. Armed bands have attacked settlements in the area since 2005. Analysts say they include supporters of former President Ange-Felix Patasse as well as Chadian mercenaries who helped President Francois Bozize overthrow him in 2003, but then became disaffected. Former colonial power France, which previously helped Patasse fight off uprisings, threw its weight behind Bozize's government and sent helicopters and soldiers early in 2006 to take on the northwestern attackers. French fighter jets and logistical support helped dislodge a different group of rebels late last year from the northeastern town of Birao, near the border with Sudan's war-torn western region of Darfur. United Nations experts were due to travel to the Birao area on Tuesday to assess the aid needs of tens of thousands of people forced from their homes by the fighting. The U.N. says as many as 1 million people have been affected by violence across northern Central African Republic.
