| |
ULAN BATOR: Soldiers have been taken off the streets of Mongolia's capital following riots that left five people dead, the justice minister said Thursday, as the electoral committee announced victory for the former communists.
"The situation has stabilised and there is no immediate danger of violence so armed forces have been removed from strategic positions and have been replaced by police," Justice Minister Tsend Munkh-Orgil told reporters.
The former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has won the national elections, a spokesman for the General Election Committee told reporters on Thursday.
Armed soldiers had patrolled the streets of the capital on Wednesday after a four-day state of emergency was imposed the night before to quell the protests that erupted amid anger over allegations of rigged national elections.
On Tuesday, around 8,000 people stormed through the centre of Ulan Bator, destroying buildings, torching cars and pelting police with rocks.
The violence left five people dead and 329 injured, Munkh-Orgil told reporters on Wednesday, adding that police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the unrest.
Border troops and other armed forces were called in to support outmanned police, according to Munhk-Orgil, who said on Wednesday that unnamed groups were planning further demonstrations.
The unrest began after the MPRP claimed victory in Sunday's national elections over the Democratic Party, with which it had shared an uneasy coalition since 2004.
Protesters took to the streets after Democratic Party leader Tsakhia Elbegdorj alleged the MPRP had cheated its way to a supposed win.
The reduced security presence could be clearly seen on the streets of Ulan Bator on Thursday although barricades remained in some places, according to an AFP reporter in the city.
- AFP/yb
|
