Parliament in the Central African Republic has approved a six-month extension to a state of emergency declared by the government to help combat armed groups it accuses of seeking to mount a coup. Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada, in a tweet, thanked parliament for the vote, saying it would "enable the government to pursue long-term operations to secure the country." The vote was approved by oral consent, which means that the number of MPs in favour or opposed is unknown, the National Assembly's press service said. The state of emergency was first declared for two weeks on January 21, after militia groups tried to advance on the capital Bangui ahead of presidential and legislative elections the previous month. They were held back by government forces, UN peacekeepers and Russian and Rwandan military personnel, sent by their governments under bilateral accords. The December 27 elections saw President Faustin Archange Touadera re-elected, but in a result that the opposition has dismissed as a sham. Only around a third of the CAR's electorate was able to cast a vote. Most of the country is controlled by armed groups that emerged after a civil war erupted in 2013 following the overthrow of Touadera's predecessor, Francois Bozize. clt/amt/ri/ach