Anti-balaka militia originally sprang up to protect the Christian population of the Central African Republic, but now stand accused of human rights abuses themselves. Last month, the African Union branded militia targeting Muslims in Central African Republic as “terrorists” and said they would be treated as enemy combatants, a day after killing a Congolese peacekeeper and amid deepening international frustration at continuing violence in the impoverished and landlocked country. Photo: A female member of the anti-balaka, a Christian militia, patrols with other militiamen outside village of Zawa April 8, 2014. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A protester holds a poster displaying the message “Get away UK” during an anti-British demonstration in the Iranian capital that resulted in a break in at the British Embassy on November 29, 2011 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by FarsNews/Getty Images)

Members of the South Korean Special Weapons and Tactics team exhibit their skill during anti-terrorism exercises at a training camp on May 30, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung Jun/Getty Images)

From house breaking in Johannesburg to hippos on the loose in Tbilisi to rioters attacking a policewoman in Burundi, Reuters photographers tell the story behind some of the most iconic pictures of the year. Here: Protesters drag a female police officer accused of shooting a protester in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi, May 12, 2015. Goran Tomasevic: Protesters started throwing stones at a group of police, who then started to run away. The policewoman in the photo, Medikintos Inabeza, 33, got left behind and then some protesters started to push her, saying that she had shot a female protestor in the stomach with an AK47 rifle. I didn't see anything of that. There were 5 or 10 protesters pushing the policewoman at first, then others came and joined in. Up to 20 or 30 protesters were surrounding her at one point. The protesters kicked and beat her very badly; I also saw a couple of knives. I thought they were going to kill her... (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Reuters photographers Carlos Barria and Bobby Yip photographed protestors and details of life on the barricades, asking demonstrators what their role was in the movement, and what they wanted to happen. Here: Crystal, 15, a part-time boutique sales assistant, poses on Nathan Road in Mongkok shopping district in Hong Kong October 7, 2014. Holding a walkie talkie for fast communication with other supporters, Crystal said, “I am not demanding Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to quit, but (want) to protect protesters from being threatened badly by opponents and the police”. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

Riot police walk past burning garbage containers during heavy clashes with demonstrators during a 24-hour strike on March 29, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. Spanish workers staged a general strike to protest the government's latest labour reforms, which are designed to help Spain lower its deficit within EU limits. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Anti-nuclear activists demonstrate during a “Say to Goodbye to Nuclear Energy” protest on September 11, 2011 in Kobe, Japan. Japan is marking sixth months since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan offshore on March 11 at 2:46pm local time, triggering a tsunami wave of up to ten metres which engulfed large parts of north-eastern Japan and also damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing the worst nuclear crisis in decades. The current number of dead and missing is reportedly estimated to be 22,900. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

A protester holds a sign in front of riot policemen during an anti-G20 demonstration through the streets of Nice on November 1, 2011 in Nice, France. Anti-G20 demonstrators are gathered in Nice ahead of the arrival of the world's top economic leaders for the G20 summit in Cannes on November 3rd and 4th. The leaders are expected to debate current issues surrounding the global financial system in the hope of fending off a global recession and finding an answer to the Eurozone crisis. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)