Gabon's capital Libreville erupted into a second day of violent protests yesterday sparked by a disputed election, with at least three dead and hundreds arrested after the challenger rejected results that gave President Ali Bongo a narrow victory. Riots raged in at least nine of the city's neighbourhoods, witnesses and a police source said.Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya said three people were killed and up to 1100 arrested across the West African country of 1.8 million.Bongo said the electorate had given its verdict and described the camp of challenger Jean Ping - a former close ally of the Bongo family - as "a small group whose only aim is to take power for themselves".Ping, who dismissed Wednesday's result as fraudulent, said two people were killed and many others wounded when the presidential guard attacked his party headquarters overnight.He called for international assistance to protect the population against what he described as "a rogue state".Former colonial ruler France, the US and the EU urged calm and called on authorities to release polling station results for greater transparency, while the UN also urged restraint.The result extends for another seven years the Bongo family's half-century grip on power in a country where oil accounts for about 60% of the GDP.Bongo's office accused the Ping camp of planning "co-ordinated attacks on symbols of the state", adding that security forces had in response encircled Ping's headquarters and clashed with his supporters, resulting in one death.Yesterday a witness reported hearing gunfire and blasts in the Nkembo neighbourhood, near the city centre, while another saw protesters loot shops, turn over rubbish bins to block streets and smash cars in Avea."This is just a consequence of the current situation. This is because of the victory of Bongo against Jean Ping," said witness Alex Mbadinga, 32.Libreville residents said the internet was cut yesterday. Social networks, including Twitter and Facebook, stopped functioning overnight.French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was no room for violence within the political process."I'm calling, therefore, all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to avoid additional victims." ..