 Forces loyal to Congo's rival presidential contenders fought gun battles in the capital Kinshasa on Saturday in the latest violence to mar historic elections meant to end a decade of war and chaos. The government threatened to send in the army to quell the fighting, which began mid-morning in Kinshasa's main boulevard close to the office of Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former rebel chief who says electoral fraud has hurt his challenge to President Joseph Kabila. "If this continues the army will have to intervene to restore order," Interior Minister Denis Kalume told Reuters.
| They brought out heavy machine guns and mortar tubes from their base in Bemba's office compound. Some, carrying assault rifles or rocket propelled grenade launchers, wrapped lengths of colorful fabric around their loins before heading to a cemetery across the boulevard from where heavy gunfire was heard. |
Bemba's men, many wearing red bandanas round their heads and scraps of fur or grass on their wrists or guns as lucky charms, took up positions in ditches on either side of the boulevard. They brought out heavy machine guns and mortar tubes from their base in Bemba's office compound. Some, carrying assault rifles or rocket propelled grenade launchers, wrapped lengths of colorful fabric around their loins before heading to a cemetery across the boulevard from where heavy gunfire was heard.
| At least they're fighting in the right spot ... |
Comrades dragged at least one fighter with apparent gunshot wounds back into Bemba's compound, and at least one more Bemba loyalist was wounded, a Reuters reporter saw. Kalume said one policeman was wounded.
The world's biggest U.N. peacekeeping mission sent reinforcements to the area and its head, William Swing, met Bemba in Kinshasa to try to calm the fighting. "Mr Swing is with Vice-President Bemba trying to resolve this problem. He is also in contact with President Kabila," U.N. mission spokesman Jean-Tobie Okala said. "We have been trying to resolve this situation, which is very confusing."
| A European Union force, sent to secure Congo's first democratic elections in more than 40 years, was on high alert but had not been asked to intervene. |
The rattle of automatic rifle fire and the boom of occasional rocket propelled grenades and mortar rounds echoed around the area as tires lay burning in the street and some civilians fled on foot. A European Union force, sent to secure Congo's first democratic elections in more than 40 years, was on high alert but had not been asked to intervene, a spokesman said. The U.N. and EU forces have stepped up patrols in recent weeks, hoping to avoid a repetition of August violence when Bemba's and Kabila's private armies fought fierce battles here. |