Update-Streets calm in riot-hit Mongolia

The situation had stabilised, the justice minister said, and police had replaced troops on the streets.

A state of emergency remains in place in the wake of the violence which erupted on Tuesday night.

Thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against alleged fraud in Sunday's general election.

Preliminary results give the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) a comfortable win.

Opposition supporters allege the poll was rigged, although international monitors say it was free and fair.

With deep rural roots, a strong leadership and an 87-year history, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party is the most powerful political force in this country.

But as of Wednesday, it was homeless.

The bulky, Communist-era headquarters of the MPRP was gutted by fire on Tuesday after a day of heavy rioting in the capital. Hour by hour, floor by floor, the flames climbed up into the building until there was nothing left to burn.

The incident started in the early afternoon when the Democratic Party, angered at apparently losing an election over the weekend, marched on the MPRP building.

Protesters overwhelmed a security force at the building and began smashing windows and destroying property.

Police in riot gear could do little to quell the violence. Tear gas and rubber bullets only temporarily dispersed the crowds before they returned in large numbers.

The protesters set the building on fire and then looted an alcohol shop on the first floor. Bottles of vodka were drunk and then used as weapons against the police.

The riot soon spread to the nearby Cultural Palace, home to a museum and theatre. The museum was looted and the building torched.
   
"This has been building for a long time. People are fed up with this party," said Dorjiin Khurelbaatar, a government worker who was on the streets. "When people are pushed, they will push back. Now we see the result."

As the MPRP building burned, another group set on a police station in a failed attempt to steal weapons. The melee left five dead. Over 300 people were injured, a third of them police.

Several news channels aired the violence live on television. Many families sat at home watching in horror as their normally peaceful city was consumed by chaos. Camera crews filmed shots being fired, a fire engine being attacked with bricks and people being beaten in the streets.

By 0300, the police had regained control of the city and were hauling rioters away in police vans. More than 700 were arrested.

At least four people have died in violent protests in the Mongolian capital over alleged electoral fraud, officials and state media say.

At least 130 police and protesters were wounded, and hundreds are said to have been detained in Ulan Bator.

The president has declared a state of emergency and on Wednesday parts of the city remained sealed off.

Opposition supporters question early results from Sunday's poll, which give a clear victory to the ruling party.

Preliminary returns suggest the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has taken at least 45 seats in the 76-seat parliament, but the opposition Democrats allege fraud.

'Necessary force'

Several thousand people gathered on to the streets of the capital after the preliminary results emerged on Tuesday.

The ruling party headquarters were set alight and government offices were looted. Paintings were destroyed by a fire at the national art gallery, Mongolia's Montsame news agency said.