KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The elections-related death toll has risen to 14 in Democratic Republic of Congo, a human-rights group says.
Human Rights Watch blames the deaths of opposition protesters on guards loyal to President Joseph Kabila, the BBC reported. Government officials deny responsibility, the British network said.
Kabila, of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy, has taken a narrow lead -- 940,000-912,000 -- over his closest rival, Etienne Tshisekedi of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, in the initial round of balloting. Voters will go back to the polls Monday for the next round.
The BBC said about 15 percent of the votes have been counted, with most coming from Kabila strongholds.
Meanwhile, election officials said their Web site was hacked into and false results were posted there. The BBC said official results were released earlier than planned because tensions had heightened after unofficial tallies had been circulated.
