Hundreds of angry demonstrators on Wednesday laid the bodies of at least 16 people killed in clashes in Central African Republic's capital in front of the mission headquarters of the United Nations.

The Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest and most unstable countries, has been mired in a cycle of ethnic and religious violence since 2013.

UN peacekeepers and local security forces have battled armed groups in Bangui's PK5 neighourhood - a Muslim enclave of the majority Christian city - since Sunday aiming to dismantle their bases there.

One Rwandan peacekeeper was killed and eight others were wounded in fighting on Tuesday, the UN mission, known as MINUSCA, said, in the bloodiest flareup in two years brought hundreds of angry residents to the UN base.

The surge in violence coincides with a visit by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN's head of peacekeeping operations, to the country that has been mired in a cycle of ethnic and religious violence since 2013.

The demonstrators, who blame UN soldiers for firing on residents protesting against the operation in PK5, carried the bodies wrapped in cloth to MINUSCA's gates.