South Africa has decided to pull its troops out of the Central African Republic because the deal under which they were deployed has become void with the fall of the government there, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

"We have taken a decision to withdraw our soldiers," Zuma was quoted as saying by the public broadcaster SABC, at the end of a summit of African regional leaders.

Zuma had faced questions over the presence of the troops following the gunning down by rebels of 13 South African paratroopers in the battle that saw rebels seize the capital Bangui. "We were in CAR on the basis of the agreement between the two countries," he said at the end of the summit, which ended late on Wednesday.