At the giant Ndassima gold mine in Central African Republic, gunmen keep the peace - for a price - among hundreds of miners who swarm over the steep sides of the glittering open pit, scratching out a living.

The mine, owned by Canada's Axmin, was overrun by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels more than year ago. It now forms part of an illicit economy driving sectarian conflict in one of Africa's most unstable countries.