Kampala — Gunfire and explosions rocked the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, yesterday as armed followers of Jean Pierre Bemba, a former vice president and rebel leader, clashed with government troops.

The sound of machinegun fire, followed by that of rocket-propelled grenades, could be heard around the Supreme Court, near Bemba's home. Residents fled and the government ordered schools and ministries closed.

The shooting broke out after the personal militia of defeated presidential contender Bemba defied a government order last week to disband. The Government had given a March 15 deadline to Bemba and another former vice president, Azarias Ruberwa, to surrender their security personnel and replace them with policemen.

"Bemba's safety cannot be guaranteed by 12 policemen. We are ready for a compromise, but the other side has to make an effort," said Thomas Luhaka, a senior aide of Bemba.

AFP journalists saw government tanks being deployed in the neighbourhood as a UN officer said the exchange had intensified.

"At first there was RPG fire, then a few mortar bombs and artillery, the UN officer said. There was no indication of any casualty toll," he added.

Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC, patrolled the streets as the gunfights raged, but did not intervene.

"We are moving our APCs to the area," UN military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Didier Rancher told Reuters, but declined further comment.

MONUC has agreements to evacuate certain individuals, such as senior diplomats and their families, in the event of fighting in Kinshasa.

The clashes were the first in Kinshasa, a stronghold of Bemba's support, since the elections in October last year, which were meant to mark the end of five years of war.

Dozens of people were killed last year in fighting between Bemba's forces and Kabila's presidential guard before a second-round run-off between the two men.

The head of the 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, William Swing, was due to meet Kabila yesterday to try to defuse the crisis.

"There is a lot still going on behind the scenes," a Western diplomat told Reuters before the clashes. "Both sides are very, very stubborn. I don't see where a breakthrough will come from."