Mongolia clamps down after five killed in unrest

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

ULAN BATOR (AFP) — Armed soldiers patrolled the tense streets of Mongolia's capital Wednesday amid a state of emergency that was imposed after protests over alleged vote-rigging left five people dead.

The government vowed it would prevent further unrest after Tuesday's upheaval, when around 8,000 people stormed through the centre of Ulan Bator, destroying buildings, torching cars and pelting police with rocks.

Five people were killed and 329 people injured in the protests, Justice Minister Tsend Munkh-Orgil told reporters, adding that police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets to quell the unrest but that they had been overwhelmed.

"Border troops and armed forces are being used to improve security in the city because of an insufficient number of police,"...