Gunbattles rock Brazzaville in wake of disputed Congo election

Gunbattles rocked the capital of Congo Republic on Monday, shattering a relative calm that had followed President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s re-election in a disputed poll 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 […]

Gunbattles rocked the capital of Congo Republic on Monday, shattering a relative calm that had followed President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s re-election in a disputed poll 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, said government spokesman Thierry Moungalla.
Opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas came second in the March 20 election and his father led the Ninjas during the civil war. The group 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 attacks, an aide said.
“The government … does not yet have proof that the candidates or their supporters were involved in this affair but … investigations are under way,” government spokesman Moungalla said on state television.