BANGUI: Polling stations opened Sunday for presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic, AFP journalists saw, as the country remains torn by civil war and a new rebel offensive threatens the capital.

There was a delay of around 50 minutes before polling stations in Bangui opened as voting materials had not been delivered on time, AFP journalists saw, while UN peacekeepers and local and Rwandan soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital with armoured vehicles posted outside voting places.