Clashes bring emergency declaration

Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital, Ulan Bator, early today after protesters clashed with police and stormed the headquarters of the ruling party, alleging fraud in weekend parliamentary elections.

Enkhbayar’s decree allows police to use force in dealing with thousands of rock-throwing protesters who mobbed the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party headquarters Tuesday and set it on fire. The crowd had not dispersed by nightfall, despite repeated volleys of tear gas, rubber bullets and jets of water.

The crowd thinned slightly after the emergency declaration, though some protesters had begun looting an art gallery and government offices.