Kyrgyz opposition protesters forced their way into the main government building yesterday, demanding the resignation of veteran President Askar Akayev. Heavily-armed security forces, who had earlier ringed the White House ? the seat of government ? withdrew as protesters poured into the building. One could be seen waving a flag from the second floor. Above, another protester tossed documents out to the cheering crowd of thousands below.

After protesters seized control of the main government headquarters, a Kyrgyz opposition leader pledged to hold new elections. ?We will establish order. We will not allow loo-ting. We will hold our own elections to start our rule?, declared former prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiev who has emerged as one of the key figures in the protests against the rule of President Askar Akayev.

<B>Pools of blood</B>

Troops had repelled an initial attempt to storm the building, its many windows now smashed. A correspondent had earlier heard several gunshots in the capital Bishkek where fighting broke out between supporters of Akayev and thousands of opposition demonstrators. It was not clear if anyone had been hit, but witnesses saw several people from both sides, as well as policemen, who had been badly beaten. Pools of blood were visible after the fighting.

The whereabouts of Akayev, who has been in power for 14 years, were not known. Much of the fighting was in the nearby Ala Too Square where former Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiev and other opposition leaders had addressed the protesters. Shouting ?Down with the Akayev clans? and cheered on by residents, thousands of people had marched through Bishkek ? a city of 800,000.

Many demonstrators wore pink and yellow arm bands which are rapidly becoming the colours of anti-Akayev protest. There were fears that the situation in the Central Asian state could spin out of control and despite the euphoria among the crowd the atmosphere was very tense. Akayev earlier this week promised not to resort to massive force to deal with the increasingly violent protests, which have already put two key townsin the poor south of the country under opposition control.

The south of mountainous Kyrgyzstan saw bloody ethnic clashes in the dying days of Soviet rule but analysts say the unrest this time has more to do with anger over poverty than ethnic rivalry. Some analysts have warned that the increasingly bitter divide could push the impoverished ex-Soviet state into civil war.

And Akayev?s newly-appointed interior minister, a hardline former top policeman, hinted he would have little tolerance for anything but peaceful protest. ?We ask (the protesters) not to destroy, not to loot, not to storm state buildings and shops. I will never give an order to use arms against peaceable people?, Interior Minister Keneshbek Dushebayev told reporters.

The country of 5 million borders China and lies in an energy-rich region where Washington and Moscow vie for influence. Both powers have military bases outside the capital.

<B>Protesting election </B>

The protests have been triggered by opposition demands that parliamentary elections in February and March, in which they lost heavily, should be annulled because they were fraudulent. International observers have said the polls were flawed.

Kyrgyzstan?s State Secretary, Osmonakun Ibraimov, offered to resign in the face of the protests. He is regarded as Akayev?s chief ideologist and is a hate-figure for the opposition. Unlike fellow ex-Soviet states Ukraine and Georgia where the opposition swept to power after disputed elections, there is no obvious opposition leader in Kyrgyzstan. On Wednesday, Akayev said parliament would address the problems of the mostly agricultural south. He has refused to resign or cancel the election results.

<B>Dmitry SOLOVYOV</B>