Gunmen open fire outside Congo's Supreme Court

KINSHASA, Nov 21 (Reuters) Gunmen opened fire outside Congo's Supreme Court today during a protest by supporters of former rebel chief Jean-Pierre Bemba, who has challenged a presidential election result giving victory to his rival.

This correspondent saw white-painted United Nations armoured vehicles fired warning shots from their cannon to keep back a group of Bemba followers who tried to rush the court building and set fire to police trucks.

The protest in the capital Kinshasa turned violent after Bemba filed a formal challenge to the Supreme Court at the weekend against provisional results which showed he had lost the election to incumbent President Joseph Kabila.

He has alleged ''systematic cheating'' in the Oct. 29 run-off in Democratic Republic of Congo, which held its first free elections in more than 40 years. They were aimed at ending years of dictatorship, war and chaos in the former Belgian colony.

Police had fired tear gas at several hundred Bemba supporters who were protesting outside the Supreme Court building, when automatic rifle fire broke out and continued in sustained bursts.

Black-robed judges and civilian staff fled from the court.

At least two police vehicles were set on fire by the protesters.

Armoured vehicles carrying United Nations troops, part of the world's biggest peacekeeping force that protected the elections, pulled back from positions when the gunfire began.

But they later returned and U.N. security personnel armed with pistols and sub-machine guns evacuated civilians from the court. At least one of the vehicles was stoned by the mob.

''We have sent additional troops in to secure the situation,'' UN mission spokesman Kemal Saiki said. European Union peacekeeping troops also deployed near the court building.

It was not immediately clear who started shooting but fighters loyal to Bemba had sub-machine guns at the scene.

It was the first serious violence in the capital Kinshasa since the provisional election result was announced by the Independent Electoral Commission on Wednesday. The result must be confirmed by the Supreme Court.

The October 29 vote was generally peaceful in the mineral-rich central African state, although supporters of Bemba and Kabila fought gunbattles in Kinshasa earlier this month and in August.

UN officials had on Monday reported that more than 2,000 civilians had fled across the Congo river to escape election-related violence in western Bandundu province, about 280 km (175 miles) upriver from Kinshasa.

The provisional election results gave 58.05 per cent of the votes to Kabila, against 41.95 per cent for Bemba.

The elections in Congo crowned a peace process that ended a 1998-2003 war. This conflict triggered a humanitarian crisis that has killed over 4 million Congolese through violence, hunger and disease.

REUTERS PDM MIR KP1851