French lawmakers on Tuesday approved an extension of the country's military operation in the Central African Republic as the U.N. warned of a potential new bloodbath in the troubled African state.

Despite misgivings among some that French troops have been put into an uncontrollable situation in the former colony, deputies in the National Assembly voted 428-14 (with 21 abstentions) in favor of authorizing the mission, which was launched in early December, to continue beyond April.

French President Francois Hollande has telephoned Morocco's King Mohammed VI to soothe diplomatic tensions raised by civil lawsuits filed in Paris accusing Morocco's intelligence chief of "complicity in torture."

Morocco, a close ally with strong commercial and cultural ties to its former colonial ruler, had reacted furiously to the announcement last Thursday of two lawsuits filed by an NGO against Abdellatif Hammouchi, the head of its domestic intelligence agency (DGST).

There would be a genocide raging in Central African Republic if French troops had not been deployed, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday ahead of a parliamentary vote to extend the military mission.

The issue has divided the French parliament but the vote to extend Operation Sangaris, whose mandate is due to expire in April, is expected to pass in both houses.

Francois Hollande told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday Ukraine must have a "peaceful transition", saying it was vital to ensure the country remained unified, the French president's office said.

Hollande also said the formation of a new government in Ukraine must lead to a presidential election and vital reforms, in a telephone conversation with the Russian president.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday urged Russia to continue to offer financial assistance to Ukraine, telling reporters in Beijing "there is no time to lose" for the crisis-hit country.

"What we know is that Ukraine's financial situation is very bad, that's for certain," Fabius said, as the global community discussed support for Ukraine, which has appealed for $35 billion in western aid.

The head of France's peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic on Monday denied claims by rights groups of ethnic cleansing, but admitted Muslims are under "intense pressure".

The impoverished country descended into chaos last March after a rebellion overthrew the government, sparking deadly violence between the Christian majority and Muslim minority that has uprooted a million people out of a population of 4.6 million.

A massive rock crashed into a chalet in the southeast French Alps on Sunday, killing two children and injuring five others, police said.

The children, aged seven and 10, were asleep at the time of the accident in the village of Isola in France's Alpes-Maritimes region.

Violence and sectarian fighting have abated in conflict-torn Central African Republic since the arrival of French peacekeepers in December, the head of the force said Sunday.

General Francisco Soriano also said the French forces had seized nearly 1,000 firearms and 4,000 other weapons such as knives and rods in the capital Bangui and across the country.

Germany and France on Saturday urged the Ukrainian government and the opposition to respect a peace deal agreed a day earlier to end the ex-Soviet country's worst crisis since independence.

"It is now up to the two sides in the conflict -- the government as well as the opposition -- to stick to what was agreed and to begin building a relationship of trust," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement, as the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych appeared close to collapse after months of protests.

Central African Republic President Catherine Samba Panza urged France on Friday "not to abandon" her country, as Paris prepares to vote on extending its military presence in the country.

"This is not the moment to abandon the Central African Republic," the interim president told Agence France Presse in an interview.