Mongolian president declares emergency

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, July 1 (UPI) -- Mongolia's president declared a state of emergency in the Asian nation's capital early Wednesday after rioters burned the ruling party headquarters.

The violent protests erupted in Ulaanbaatar following the re-election of President Nambariin Enkhbayar's government, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The demonstrators, allegedly supporters of the opposition Democratic Party, torched the building that houses the offices of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party while demanding greater democratic freedoms. A second building also was set ablaze, the ABC reported.

Mongolia, which has a population of just under 3 million people, switched from communism to democracy in 1992.