Gunshots were ringing out in the streets around the central prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Saturday as groups of three policemen armed with assault rifles went door-to-door in apparent search operations after a night of violence and looting.

Burnt-out tyres, broken glass and concrete blocks littered the neighbourhood's only tarmac road, and an armoured truck was parked outside the prison itself.

Similar trucks have been patrolling the streets of the capital for most of this week, with their turret-mounted machine guns hidden under protective bags. This time, the weapon was gleaming in the sun.

"There have been killings and looting, young men have died and a bakery was ransacked," angry residents shouted.

When asked who had committed those crimes, they answered in a chorus: "Soldiers, policemen!"