Nearly 1000 inmates escaped from a Congolese prison in a spectacular raid by masked gunman to spring a militia leader from death row, only weeks before presidential polls.
Officials in eastern Katanga province said on Wednesday the eight gunmen took advantage of visiting day to slip in unnoticed on a minivan at the jail where Commander Gedeon, a top leader of the Mai-Mai community-based militia, was being held.
"They opened fire on the police and the military guards, killing two," Katanga provincial interior minister Dikanga Kazadi said.
"They freed a former militia leader and a total of 967 inmates, 150 of whom have already been brought back in," Kazadi added.
The brazen attack on the Kassapa prison, on the outskirts of Lubumbashi, happened at around 10:30 am (1830 AEST), the minister said.
Lubumbashi is the Democratic of Republic of Congo's second largest city and one of the resource-rich country's major mining hubs.
"Commander Gedeon was the first one to be freed," said Kazadi.
In March 2009, a military court in Katanza found Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga, his real name, guilty on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, insurgent activity and terrorism.
The crimes he was convicted for took place between 2003 and 2006 in the Mitwaba, Pweto and Manono regions of the vast, mineral-rich Katanga province.
"After freeing this high-profile detainee, the attackers asked all the other prisoners to leave," the interior ministry official said, adding that a helicopter was scanning the area in a bid to track down scattered fugitives.
Mutanga's escape comes weeks ahead of November 28 elections in which President Joseph Kabila is widely expected to seek re-election although his candidacy is not yet official.
Human Rights Watch had in 2009 hailed Mutanga's conviction as a major step in the country's efforts to bring to justice some of the key perpetrators of the Congolese conflict.
"This conviction is a victory for the victims of Gedeon and his Mai-Mai militia, who inflicted horrific atrocities on thousands of people in central Katanga," the watchdog had said at the time.
Mai-Mai militia were armed and equipped by Laurent-Desire Kabila, the current president's father, in his rebellion against dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who was toppled in 1997.
The Mai Mai, an umbrella name for a patchwork of armed groups led by warlords, tribal leaders and politically-motivated fighters, were also used against rebel troops backed by Rwanda in the 1998-2003 war.
However, at the end of the war some militia leaders refused to hand back their arms, saying they had not been properly compensated for their support for the government.
The Congolese military has always denied having any links with Mutanga's group or with the Mai-Mai still active in the western Kivu region.
Congolese authorities meanwhile imposed a temporary ban on all political protests on Wednesday in the capital Kinshasa over fears of escalating violence in the run-up to the presidential polls, officials said.
The ban, which will remain in place until Sunday, was designed to ensure "a peaceful social environment" during the period when politicians will file their candidacies for president and parliament with the election commission, said a statement from the governor of the capital, Andre Kimbuta.
Both the ruling party and opposition were planning to hold rallies on Thursday.
On Tuesday in Kinshasa an opposition supporter was killed in clashes with police that erupted after his party's leader formalised his bid to run against the Democratic Republic of Congo's current president, Joseph Kabila.
The man's death came when police dispersed Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) supporters demonstrating after the overnight sacking of their party headquarters.
Police said that on Monday afternoon, UDPS supporters threw stones and a petrol bomb at an office of Kabila's ruling People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).
Early in July and on September 1, demonstrations by the UDPS and its allies degenerated into clashes with the police.
Candidates in the presidential and parliamentary elections, both to be held in a single round on November 28, have until Sunday to hand in their dossiers.
The 40-year-old Kabila, who has ruled the vast mineral-rich and conflict-torn central African country for 10 years, is widely expected to seek another term although he has not formally announced his candidacy yet.
