Amnesty International says members of the Seleka rebel alliance went house to house in the capital, Bangui, to avenge the deaths of nearly 60 Muslim men, who it's believed had been killed by a Christian militia.
Crimes that have been committed according to Amnesty include extrajudicial executions, mutilation of bodies, intentional destruction of religious buildings such as mosques, and the forced displacement of massive numbers of people.
A three-person Amnesty International delegation has documented the violations and abuses that have taken place since violence erupted on December 5th in the capital with an early morning attack by anti-balaka militia.
In some neighbourhoods, the anti-balaka forces went door to door and killed approximately 60 Muslim men.
The de-facto government forces, known as ex-Seleka, retaliated on a larger scale against Christians in the wake of the attack, killing nearly 1,000 men over a two-day period and systematically looting civilian homes.
A small number of women and children were also killed.
During the days that followed the initial burst of violence in Bangui, human rights violations and abuses reportedly continued at a staggering pace.
Despite the presence of French and African military forces meant to protect the civilian population, civilians are being wilfully killed on a daily basis, with at least 90 additional people killed since December 8th, according to Amnesty.
Some victims have been shot; others have been killed by angry mobs with machetes; others have even been stoned.
The complete absence of justice and accountability for these crimes has led to a downward spiral of revenge killings and to deepening inter-communal hatred and mistrust. In total 614,000 people have been displaced across the country, 189,000 in Bangui alone, a quarter of the city's population.
Speaking to Premier's Des Busteed, Amnesty spokeswoman Susanna Flood confirmed the details.
The African Union has promised to deploy up to 6,000 troops in a new peacekeeping force which is due to take authority in the Central African Republic on December 19th.
Amnesty says this deployment is urgently needed but the makeup and deployment plans for the troops have not yet been spelled out.
Amnesty International is also calling on the UN to expedite its plans to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights.