Pope Francis arrives in conflict zone CAR after Uganda

He has said he is determined to bring a message of peace and hope to a country where elections are due to be held next month.

This is the third and last leg of his trip after visiting Uganda and Kenya.

During the visit, his first to a conflict zone, the pontiff will celebrate Mass in the capital, Bangui, but is also expected to meet Muslim leaders and visit a mosque in the city's Muslim enclave, known as PK5.

When Pope Francis put the Central African Republic on his itinerary, he gave his Vatican security officers a major challenge.

It's no longer full-blown civil war, but it's a country divided - on the surface at least - along religious grounds.

Every day, gunfire and grenades ring out across the capital and countrywide, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes into enclaves that are either Christian or Muslim.

It's a risky place for a Pope to come, but of the three countries on his African adventure, the CAR has perhaps the most to gain from a symbolic visit.

In Uganda, the Pope celebrated Mass in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands of people, and spoke at a Catholic shrine dedicated to Christians martyred for their faith in the 19th Century.

The Mass marked the 50th anniversary of the martyrs' canonisation.

On Friday, the Pope addressed an audience of young people in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, urging them to unite and take a stand against the destructive effects of tribalism.

Central African Republic:

- Population: 4.6 million - 50% Christian, 15% Muslim, 35% Indigenous beliefs - Years of conflict and misgovernance

- Conflict only recently along religious lines

- Previously ruled by Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa

- Rich in diamonds

- 10,000-strong UN force took over a peacekeeping mission in September 2014

- France has about 2,000 troops in its ex-colony, first deployed in December 2013

Source: BBC News