Rebels attacked the Central African Republic capital of Bangui on Wednesday, in an escalation of violence following the presidential election last month.

President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s army, with the aid of Russian and Rwandan troops alongside U.N. security forces, repelled the attacks, authorities said.

The attack is the closest offensive to the capital since Touadera declared victory on December 27 in an election that rebels have called fraudulent. Until Wednesday, attacks carried out by rebels were sporadic and far from the capital.

France has thrown its support behind Touadera, rejecting claims that the election was fraudulent.

The United Nations confirmed that one Rwandan peacekeeper was killed in Wednesday’s attack.

Violence between armed groups since 2013 has displaced nearly 700,000 people inside the Central African Republic and forced over 600,000 to flee — most to neighboring Cameroon, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Source: Voice of America