Former members of the "Ninja" militia that fought Sassou Nguesso in a
1997 civil war raided and set alight military, police and local
government offices.
Gunbattles rock Brazzaville in wake of disputed Congo election(Reuters)
Gun battles shook the capital of Congo Republic on Monday, shattering a relative calm that had followed President Denis Sassou Nguesso's re-election in a disputed vote last month.
Former
members of the "Ninja" militia that fought Sassou Nguesso in a 1997
civil war raided and set alight military, police and local government
offices but the attacks have been contained, government spokesman
Thierry Moungalla said.
Gunfire had died down by mid-afternoon as security forces blocked access to southern Brazzaville,
where exchanges of heavy calibre fire between police and unidentified
fighters broke out around 3 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), witnesses said.
The
government did not say whether anyone was killed in the fighting.
Thousands of residents streamed north, many carrying their possessions
on their heads.
Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled the
oil-producing central African country for 32 of the past 37 years,
regularly presents himself as a bulwark of stability in a turbulent
region. State-run television on Monday broadcast images of damage from
the fighting alongside reminders of Congo's violent past.
The
fighting between security forces and unidentified gunmen was some of
the worst to hit Brazzaville since 1997, when Sassou Nguesso returned to
power after months of urban warfare between rival militia groups in the
capital. He had previously ruled the country from 1979 until 1992, when
he lost an election.
Sassou Nguesso won
re-election on March 20 after pushing through constitutional changes in
an October referendum to remove age and term limits that would have
prevented him from standing again.
Some residents
of southern Brazzaville who had taken shelter in churches in the centre
and north of the city on Monday said they feared a resurgence of
fighting after the government cast suspicion on the losing candidates in
the election.
"The government ... does not
yet have proof that the candidates or their supporters were involved in
this affair but ... investigations are under way," Moungalla said on state television early in the afternoon.
Opposition
leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, whose father led the Ninjas during
the civil war, came second in the election. The Ninjas signed a peace
accord with the government in 2003 after years of sporadic clashes,
though rivalries persist along regional and ethnic lines.
Kolelas
was not involved in the latest violence, an aide said. Residents of
southern neighbourhoods said that they had seen armed men in civilian
attire but could not say whether they were indeed former Ninja
militiamen.
Opposition supporters are frustrated
in the wake of the election by Sassou Nguesso's unwavering stranglehold
on power. Young protesters chanted "Sassou, leave!" and erected
barricades in southern Brazzaville's Makelekele neighbourhood as
fighting raged in the morning.
Dozens of
heavily-armed Republican Guard troops and police later headed towards
the nearby Kingouari neighbourhood, where isolated gunfire persisted
into the afternoon.
The Constitutional Court confirmed Sassou Nguesso's victory on Monday evening in a statement read on state television.
At least 18 people were killed by security forces during opposition demonstrations against the referendum changes.
Opposition
candidates say the March vote was fraudulent and have called for a
campaign of civil disobedience. A general strike last week held in
southern Brazzaville was ignored in the north of the city, where Sassou
Nguesso is popular.
The U.S. State Department said
after the election it had received numerous reports of irregularities
and criticised the government's decision to cut all telecommunications
including Internet services during voting and for days afterwards.
Congo's
election has been closely watched across Africa, where several
long-ruling presidents are seeking to stay on beyond constitutionally
mandated term limits.
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