BANGUI Thousands of civilians were fleeing southwestern districts of Bangui on Saturday as the army hunted down diehard rebel soldiers following a failed coup attempt, AFP quoted witnesses as saying.

Earlier Saturday, heavy mortar fire broke out in the southeast of the Central African Republic capital, according to sources at a nearby Roman Catholic missionary center.

Military sources said loyalist troops who mounted a major mopping-up offensive in the east of the city on Friday were still hunting for mutineers responsible for the abortive coup launched last Sunday night.

The nun said the mortar fire was "stronger than yesterday's", when nuns at the mission had said that several people were killed and many were injured in clashes centered on the Kassai barracks in the east of the city, where many army rebels were holed up.

Witnesses said former head of state General Andre Kolingba, who has been accused by the regime of using army mutineers in an attempt to oust President Ange-Felix Patasse, and his allies were fleeing toward the far east of Bangui.

Patasse's spokesman, Prosper Ndouba, said that loyalist troops had routed the mutineers from Camp Kassai, which is near Kolingba's home, in the early hours of Friday.