Three people were killed and six wounded in Central African Republic's capital Bangui on Monday when U.N. peacekeepers exchanged fire with armed men during a protest against the U.N. mission, the local Red Cross said.

The dead and wounded were among hundreds of protesters gathered to call for the U.N. troops to leave the country, Antoine Mbao-Bogo, president of the CAR Red Cross, said.

A Reuters witness saw protesters, carrying anti-U.N. posters, throwing stones and shouting at the troops who responded with warning shots. There was then an exchange of gunfire between the troops and armed men near the crowd.