Many CAR's citizens have welcomed the news of Mr Patasse's arrest warrant

The Central African Republic has issued an international arrest warrant for former president Ange-Felix Patasse who is accused of embezzlement and murder.

But Mr Patasse, who was ousted in a coup in March said on Tuesday that the arrest warrant was illegal and a ploy to prevent him returning home from exile.

The deposed president is charged with the killings committed by Congolese rebels he invited to the country and with misappropriating public funds to the tune of $115m, the CAR's Attorney-General Firmin Feindiro said.

He has also been held responsible for "murder, rape, assault and sharing intelligence with a foreign power and undermining the internal and external security of the state," he added.

BBC correspondent in Bangui Joseph Benamse says many of CAR's citizens will welcome the news and are demanding the return of assets stolen by members of the former regime.

'Burning buildings'

Arrest warrants have also been issued for ministers and high ranking government officials who served under Mr Patasse, our correspondent says.

Some of them are accused of setting fire to government buildings, including education and interior ministries, destroying priceless material and public documents, when General Francois Bozize seized power.

This is a pre-emptive strike by pitiful, calculating politicians aimed at preventing President Patasse from returning to the country to participate in the national (reconciliation) dialogue Prosper N'Douba

Mr Patasse, who was elected in 1993 and also in 1999, weathered numerous previous coup attempts.

But in the face of mounting public salary arrears and a general worsening of economic conditions, he became deeply unpopular.

His spokesman Prosper N'Douba has described the move as "a pre-emptive strike by pitiful, calculating politicians aimed at preventing President Patasse from returning to the country to participate in the national (reconciliation) dialogue," reports AFP news agency.

The accusation of embezzlement was "weird", he added.

Since the take-over, companies belonging to Mr Patasse and his relatives have been shut down.

The former Prime Minister Martin Ziguele who took refuge in the French embassy in Bangui following the coup has only recently been allowed to leave for France where he has been granted asylum.