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The US is to help fly African Union peacekeeping troops into the Central African Republic (CAR), officials say. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered US forces "to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic," his spokesman said in a statement. It follows a request from France, which has deployed 1,600 soldiers to the CAR. President Obama has called for calm and the arrest of those behind the violence. 'Catastrophe' French soldiers started to remove weapons from fighters on Monday. There was a brief exchange of gunfire between armed men and French forces near the airport in the capital, Bangui, as the disarmament began. But officials said most of the militiamen had been cleared by Monday night. It comes after days of communal fighting claimed around 400 lives.