Second day of shooting in Bangui

BANGUI (Reuters) -- Shooting erupted near the home of Central African Republic President Ange Felix Patasse on Sunday in a second day of clashes between his guard and followers of the country's sacked army chief, witnesses said.

The clashes, which began after Patasse's troops apparently tried to arrest General Francois Bozize on Saturday, have triggered fears of more bloodshed after a failed coup attempt in May in which scores of people were killed.

People living near Patasse's home reported 30 minutes of shooting by the Libyan-backed presidential guard in mid-morning.

It was the first time shooting had spread from the northern outskirts, where Bozize has been holed up at a barracks.

"There is also shooting in the Boye Rabe district, where Bozize has many supporters," one resident told Reuters by telephone.

There was no immediate indication whether there were casualties in the shooting.

Bozize, sacked last month without explanation, was a long-standing Patasse loyalist from his northern home region and backed the president during a series of army mutinies which battered the former French colony in the late 1990s.

A government spokesman said shooting broke out on Saturday after a summons was issued to Bozize to appear before an inquiry into the May coup attempt in the poor, landlocked state.

A meeting between the two sides ended in deadlock on Saturday, but General Lamine Cisse, the representative of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said he hoped there would be a further meeting on Sunday.

"I don't want to make any comment for the moment. I will wait until negotiations resume," he told Reuters.

Patasse's forces needed the help of Libyan troops and Congolese rebels in May to put down a coup attempt by dissidents led by former military ruler Andre Kolingba.

The official death toll was 59, but residents believe many more died.

After regaining control, Patasse arrested his defence minister and replaced his interior minister. No explanation was given for last month's sacking of Bozize, who told Reuters he had no links with the attempted coup.