U.N. troops on alert in Kinshasa following clashes
Source: Reuters
By David Lewis KINSHASA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeeping troops in armoured vehicles clamped a heavy security shield on Congo's capital Kinshasa on Sunday after weekend clashes between the forces of presidential contenders shook the riverside city. France's RFI radio said four people were killed in gunbattles on Saturday between supporters of incumbent President Joseph Kabila and his Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, as Democratic Republic of Congo awaited the results of their historic Oct. 29 run-off vote. U.N. radio said two civilians were killed. Official results from the run-off are due within a week. The streets of Kinshasa's business district, which had echoed on Saturday to the sound of automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, were calm on Sunday. The guns fell silent after emergency talks between representatives of Kabila and Bemba and U.N. leaders of the world's biggest peacekeeping force which is deployed across the vast, former Belgian colony in central Africa. Blue-helmeted U.N. troops in white-painted armoured cars guarded main crossroads and offices and premises in Kinshasa belonging to Bemba, the scene of Saturday's fighting. One U.N. armoured vehicle was positioned directly in front of the entrance of Bemba's riverside residence, which in the past has been attacked by Kabila's presidential guards. The walls of buildings on streets which saw the brunt of Saturday's clashes bore the marks of fresh bullet holes. "This morning it is calm after yesterday's troubles. We have voted but we don't know how this will end. If these troubles continue, we will just keep on suffering," Isidore Tambu, a security guard outside a shop, told Reuters. Saturday's fighting broke out after police broke up a protest by Bemba supporters, who have staged small demonstrations in recent days since Bemba's coalition said it had evidence of systematic cheating during the vote count. Partial figures published by the country's electoral commission and compiled by diplomats so far put Kabila ahead with around 60 percent of the vote. U.N. and EU peacekeepers 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 in Kinshasa in which some 30 people were killed. The Oct. 29 run-off, the deciding vote of the first free elections held in Congo in more than 40 years, was the culmination of a complex peace process following the end of Congo's 1998-2003 war. The conflict created a huge humanitarian crisis that has killed around four million people so far. Dozens of Congolese are still dying every day from violence, hunger and disease.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
