French President Francois Hollande arrived in Bangui on his first visit to the Central African Republic since sending 1,600 French troops in to restore order.  But it came just hours after two of the troops were killed.

Hollande stopped in the CAR on the way home from South Africa, where he attended the giant memorial to Nelson Mandela.  He paused at the flag draped coffins for the two soldiers who were killed Monday night.  French defense officials say gunmen fatally shot the two soldiers, who were taking part in an operation to disarm militants near the airport in Bangui.

“We have always been aware that it will be a difficult mission, especially because we want, of course, to disarm all the armed groups,” said France's ambassador to the United Nations Gerard Araud.  “So it's a very bloody incident, and of course we are moved by what happened to our soldiers.  But we are determined to move forward.”

And the French and African Union peacekeepers will have their work cut out for them.  After minority Muslim militias overthrew the President months ago, resentment has been building and mobs attacked a mosque in Bangui.

“They burned part of it, including burning down the home of the imam, and they were really dismantling it stone-by-stone. They were also yelling anti-Muslim slogans, making the sign of cutting somebody's throat and calling for the president to step down,” said Amnesty International's Joanne Mariner.