The President of Mongolia has declared a four-day state of emergency in his country after a day of violence between protestors and police that sent dozens of people to hospital and left several buildings ablaze. Michael Kohn reports from Ulan Bator:

Listen to the story

At 11.30pm, Mongolian National Television interrupted its broadcast of the violence to announce a state of emergency. In a ten-point proclamation the president ordered a lockdown of the city, including a 10pm curfew, a ban on alcohol sales and a stoppage of all private media. Public gatherings and the use of loudspeakers have also been banned as a way to prevent further demonstrations.

Despite the proclamations, violence continued into the night. After setting fire to the MPRP headquarters, opposition supporters attacked a police station where some protestors had been detained. More than 60 people were injured, about half of those were policemen. There are reports of looting and bank robberies. The protestors have also set fire to the Cultural Palace, home to a theatre and a national gallery.

Michael Kohn, BBC News, Ulan Bator

Listen to the words

Violence rocked the Mongolian capital
a great number of acts of destructive physical force shocked and disturbed Mongolia's main city

cried foul
said that something which had happened was unfair and/or illegal

stealing the election
dishonestly arranging for the result of the election to be changed

alleging
saying (that something is true) without enough proof

fraud
the crime of getting something by cheating/deceiving

proclamation
an official announcement

a lockdown
an emergency action taken by authorities to stop a problem or incident from spreading by not allowing people to move freely

curfew
when people are officially told to stay indoors at specific times

detained
arrested, not allowed to leave

looting
robbing or stealing during or after riots or other violent events, taking advantage of the fact that premises, such as shops or stalls, are left unprotected

Read more about this story

To take away:
Download or print (21 K)