Congolese authorities and the United Nations argued on Wednesday over who should disarm a former rebel chief's followers who rioted amid gunfire at the Supreme Court to protest against his election defeat, according to Reuters. The Supreme Court building was set ablaze on Tuesday during a protest by Jean-Pierre Bemba's supporters which turned violent when gunmen fired automatic weapons, forcing U.N. peacekeepers to fire warning shots to keep back the mob. Congolese troops guarded the damaged courthouse on Wednesday after the latest disturbances to mar Democratic Republic of Congo's first free elections in more than 40 years. The riot disrupted a hearing of a legal challenge by Bemba against provisional results showing his rival, incumbent President Joseph Kabila, had won an Oct. 29 run-off vote. The court must confirm the result for it to become valid. Azarias Ruberwa, like Bemba a vice-president in Kabila's transition government, said some election material had been destroyed in the fire, but not from the second round of voting. "This was a savage act. Urgent measures will be taken. The first is to move the court. It will be moved either to another place in Kinshasa or somewhere else upcountry," Ruberwa said. Alleging "systematic cheating", Bemba refuses to accept the provisional result announced by electoral authorities last week. His refusal has raised fears the former Belgian colony, which has suffered years of war and chaos, could slide back into conflict. Bemba's and Kabila's supporters and soldiers have fought gunbattles in Kinshasa's streets in the past few months. Kinshasa's governor, Admiral Mata Liwanga, accused members of Bemba's bodyguard dressed in civilian clothes of starting Tuesday's violence and firing guns in what amounted to "an insurrection or a rebellion". Bemba aides accused Congolese police of opening fire. Liwanga made a public appeal to U.N. and European Union peacekeepers to disarm Bemba's fighters and other individuals. "Should this happen again, it will be the army, not the police, that will re-establish order," Liwanga said. A U.N. spokesman said disarmament had been discussed before, "but it is primarily the responsibility of the Congolese". "I don't think that we have a mandate to disarm these units in Kinshasa," U.N. mission spokesman Kemal Saiki added. MOBS AND MILITIA Congolese authorities are angry over the apparent inability of the U.N. peacekeeping mission -- the biggest in the world at more than 17,500-strong -- to control Bemba's followers in Kinshasa, where he enjoys strong support. Witnesses said U.N. armoured vehicles guarding the Supreme Court initially pulled back when Tuesday's shooting began. U.N. officials said they had "redeployed to await reinforcements". Analysts said the riot raised questions about Bemba's intentions should the Supreme Court reject his complaint. "Outside the court, Bemba has two weapons: putting the people on the street and his own private militia. He is not likely to want to get rid of these leverages," said Jason Stearns of the International Crisis Group think-tank. He recommended a negotiated settlement between Kabila and Bemba, who led a rebel group in Congo's 1998-2003 war. Stearns said the choice was "between going in and disarming about 1,000 men or continuing in this climate of insecurity where small incidents like yesterday's could easily degenerate". The war triggered a humanitarian crisis that has killed more than 4 million Congolese through violence, hunger and disease. Humanitarian workers say over 1,000 still die each day.
