Kiev- Troopers from an elite Ukrainian anti-terrorist unit had to use force Tuesday to clear protesting lawmakers from the National Election Commission building.

It was the first outbreak of violence in Ukraine's latest constitutional crisis, begun last week after President Viktor Yushchenko ordered parliament dissolved.

A reported ten MPs supporting Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a Yushchenko opponent, were inside the building in central Kiev at the time of the police assault.

They had been standing watch in the building since Monday in an attempt to prevent election officials from beginning preparations for elections set by Yushchenko for December 7.

Their presence had already prevented a commission meeting on Monday.

More than 40 special operations officers from Alfa company, Ukraine's top anti-terrorist formation, led the advance into the election commission offices. An additional 60 uniformed police were in reserve.

The heavily armed Alfa troopers in full body armour forced the pro-Tymoshenko MPs from the election commission building after a short brawl, eyewitnesses said.

Andry Kozhemiakin, a Tymoshenko supporter and MP, told reporters on the scene that four fellow MPs sustained "serious injuries" in the donnybrook and would require medical attention "from being beaten" by the special forces troopers, the Interfax news agency reported.

Under the Ukrainian constitution, MPs can neither be arrested nor touched by law enforcers. They are also immune to criminal prosecution.

Ukrainian presidents have from time to time ignored the constitutional clause on MP immunity, claiming MPs were using constitutional immunity for personal or political gain.

The fistfight between police and MPs took place as an appellate court in Kiev was considering the constitutionality of Yushchenko's order dissolving parliament and calling for new elections.

Tymoshenko, a populist politician who claims Yushchenko's government is corrupt, opposes the early elections, arguing that politicians should be focused on the ongoing financial crisis, not campaigning for election.

Yushchenko has accused Tymoshenko of undermining a pro-European majority in parliament and attempting to sabotage early elections to avoid accepting responsibility for falling Ukrainian industrial output and rising consumer prices. (dpa)