Violence in Central African Republic could tear the country apart and destabilise the region, officials warned yesterday as African countries raised cash for a peacekeeping force in the strife-torn country.

The pledging conference comes after African leaders called for urgent solutions to the crisis in Central Africa, a landlocked, resource-rich but impoverished nation where weeks of sectarian violence have killed thousands.

"Clearly the collapse of law and order is a threat to the very existence of the Central African state, it has the potential to seriously impact on regional security and stability," said Smail Chergui, the top African Union (AU) peace and the security official, told the conference.