BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza urged fighters to put down their arms as she took the oath of office Thursday, even as looters pillaged Muslim neighborhoods and sectarian tensions escalated in the anarchic Central African Republic.Samba-Panza, the nation's first female leader, was sworn in at a ceremony days after being chosen by a national transitional council. The rebel leader behind the March 2013 coup stepped aside nearly two weeks ago under mounting international criticism of his inability to control his fighters and stem the violence. 
In her inaugural address, Samba-Panza urged both the Muslim fighters behind the coup and the Christian militiamen who rose up in opposition to support peace.

"I strongly call on the fighters to show patriotism in putting down their weapons," she said. "The ongoing disorder in the country will no longer be tolerated."
Central African Republic has been wracked by sectarian violence for months, with more than 1,000 people killed in Bangui over the course of several days in December alone. Nearly 1 million people have fled their homes, with 100,000 of them living in and around the Bangui airport being guarded by French soldiers.U.N. officials have warned that the crisis is at high risk of escalating into a genocide, driven by fighting between Christian and Muslim communities in the country with a history of coups and dictatorship. 
Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza takes the oath of office in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Samba-Panza pledged to bring peace and unity to the anarchic country as looters in the streets pillaged Muslim neighborhoods in the latest sign of escalating sectarian tensions.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza, center, receives traditional gifts in the parliament building after taking the oath of office in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Samba-Panza pledged to bring peace and unity to the anarchic country as looters in the streets pillaged Muslim neighborhoods in the latest sign of escalating sectarian tensions.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Muslims trapped in their homes wait to be rescued, as Anti-Balaka Christian youth loot the Muslim market in the PK13 district of Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday Jan. 22, 2014. Hundreds of Anti-Balakas, helped by women and children, went on a rampage, burning and looting shops. Thirty civilian Muslims, trapped inside their home, were later rescued by French forces assisted by Rwandan African Union peacekeepers. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Anti-Balaka Christians loot the Muslim market in the PK13 district of Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Hundreds of Anti-Balakas, helped by women and children, went on a rampage, burning and looting shops. Thirty civilian Muslims, trapped inside their home, were later in the day rescued by French forces assisted by Rwandan African Union peacekeepers. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Rwandan African Union peacekeepers carry weapons confiscated from Anti-Balaka Christians following looting in the Muslim market of the PK13 district of Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday Jan. 22, 2014. Hundreds of Anti-Balakas, helped by women and children, went on a rampage, burning and looting shops. Thirty civilian Muslims, trapped inside their home, were later rescued by French forces assisted by Rwandan African Union peacekeepers. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A Mulsim child looks towards French soldiers arriving to evacuate him and others from the PK13 district of Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Hundreds of Anti-Balakas, helped by women and children, went on a rampage, burning and looting Muslim shops and homes. Thirty civilian Muslims, trapped inside their home, were later rescued by French forces assisted by Rwandan African Union peacekeepers. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A Muslim man sleeps inside the St. Pierre church where he and hundreds of other Muslims seek refuge in Boali, Central African Republic, some 80kms (50 miles) north-west of Bangui, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Clashes erupted between Anti-Balaka Christians and Seleka militias as thousands of Muslim try to flee the looting of their neighborhoods, on the day of the inauguration of Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
African Union peacekeepers and French troops take position at the PK11 checkpoint in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Clashes erupted between Anti-Balaka and Seleka militias as thousands of Muslim try to flee the looting of their neighborhoods, on the day of the inauguration of Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
French troops take position at the PK11 checkpoint in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014.Clashes erupted between Anti-Balaka and Seleka militias as thousands of Muslim try to flee the looting of their neighborhoods, on the day of the inauguration of Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
An Anti-Balaka Christian militiaman suffering from multiple stab wounds to the back and the head is cared for by French troops and African Union peacekeepers at the PK11 checkpoint in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Clashes erupted between Anti-Balaka and Seleka militias as thousands of Muslim try to flee the looting of their neighborhoods, on the day of the inauguration of Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)