Congo ? Days of clashes between security forces and demonstrators claiming electoral fraud have left nearly 100 people dead in several southwestern Congo towns, humanitarian and rights groups said Friday.

Demonstrators rampaged through the town of Moanda, setting fire to police posts and several government buildings, prompting security forces to intervene, said Willy Iboma, who leads the local Foundation for the Defense of Children’s Rights. The soldiers used automatic weapons and rockets, he said.

“Until now, bodies are still being gathered from the streets and the bush,” Iboma told The Associated Press by telephone from the town, adding that the violence reached its peak Thursday.

The protests, which spread to at least four other towns in the Bas Congo province, were led by Bundu Dia Kongo, a group that supports former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, who lost presidential elections last year to Joseph Kabila.