( CNN ) -- Christian militia fighters killed at least 72 Muslim men and boys in two attacks in a remote southwestern corner of the strife-torn Central African Republic , rights group Human Rights Watch said Thursday . The attacks in the village of Guen , which occurred in February , came to light after the rights group interviewed survivors , mostly women , children and the elderly , who had sought refuge in a nearby village . Researchers also uncovered another massacre two weeks later in another village , Yakongo , this time of 19 people . They were killed by armed fighters from Seleka , a predominantly Muslim group , supported by cattle herders , the rights group said in a report . According to Human Rights Watch , French and African Union peacekeeping forces are deployed in the larger southwestern towns of Boda and Carnot but do not patrol the road between them where these villages lie . The spiraling ethnic violence in the Central African Republic has led some observers to fear another genocide like that seen in Rwanda nearly 20 years ago . The Central African Republic was plunged into chaos last year after Seleka ousted President Francois Bozize . Rebels infiltrated the capital in March 2013 , sending Bozize fleeing to Cameroon . One of Seleka 's leaders , Michel Djotodia , then seized power , only to step down as president in January after failing to halt the escalating violence . Catherine Samba-Panza , the mayor of Bangui , was recently installed as the country 's interim President , but the situation remains volatile . To counter attacks on Christian communities by Seleka groups , vigilante Christian groups known as the anti-balaka , which translates to `` anti-machete , '' have fought back . Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that anti-balaka fighters were behind the two attacks on Muslims in Guen , one on February 1 and the second four days later . One woman described seeing her husband being set upon with machetes as she fled with their 4-year-old son . And the father of 10-year-old Oumarou Bouba told Human Rights Watch that the militia did not spare his son despite his young age . `` I took my son when the anti-balaka attacked , '' he said . `` As we were running away , he was shot by the anti-balaka . He was shot in the right leg , and he fell down , but they finished him off with a machete . I had no choice but to run on . I had been shot too . I later went to see his body , and he had been struck in his head and in the neck . '' Human Rights Watch called for Samba-Panza 's interim government to investigate the killings and hold those responsible to account . It also called for the international community to hasten the authorization and deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force in order to protect vulnerable people in remote areas . `` These horrendous killings show that the French and AU peacekeeping deployment is not protecting villages from these deadly attacks , '' said Lewis Mudge , Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch . `` The Security Council should n't waste another minute in authorizing a United Nations peacekeeping mission with the troops and capacity to protect the country 's vulnerable people . '' On Tuesday , the European Union announced a military operation to help restore stability to the Central African Republic . It will focus on securing the country 's capital , Bangui , and its airport , `` with a view to handing over to a U.N. peacekeeping operation or to African partners , '' a statement said . France , the former colonial power in the Central African Republic , deployed 1,600 personnel there to support African Union troops in December after a U.N. Security Council vote authorizing military intervention . Last year 's coup was the latest in a series since the country gained independence in 1960 . CNN 's Tom Watkins contributed to this report .
Survivors tell of a massacre of Muslim men and boys in a remote village , the group says . Another massacre carried out days later by Muslim fighters , Human Rights Watch says . The group calls for a UN peacekeeping force to protect vulnerable rural communities . The ethnic violence in the Central African Republic has led to incidents of violence .