UPDATE 2-Central African Republic top court confirms President Touadera's re-election

(Adds two U.N. peacekeepers killed)

By Antoine Rolland

BANGUI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Central African Republic's highest court on Monday confirmed the re-election of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, rejecting rivals' objections as the government fends off a rebel offensive.

The weeks before and after the Dec. 27 election have been marred by a rebel assault on major cities. The rebels attacked the capital Bangui last week before being repelled by the army and U.N. peacekeepers.

Two peacekeepers - one from Gabon and one from Morocco - were killed on Monday in a rebel ambush outside the southern city of Bangassou, which militia fighters had partially occupied until being forced out last Friday, the U.N. mission said.

In all, seven peacekeepers have been killed since the rebels launched their offensive last month.

The fighting has forced nearly 60,000 people to flee the country, compounding an already dire refugee crisis.

LOW ELECTION TURNOUT

Ten of Touadera's challengers said the election should be re-run, citing low turnout due to the violence as well as alleged voting irregularities.

The constitutional court rejected those arguments on Monday, declaring Touadera the winner with 53.16% of the vote. It did, however, reject ballots from two towns because of irregularities, reducing Touadera's percentage from the 53.9% declared by the electoral commission earlier this month.

"I am very happy and I thank the Central African people who renewed their confidence in me," Touadera told supporters afterward. He said he was open to dialogue with his rivals but also promised to be firm with the authors of "blind violence".

"The justice system will take care of them," he said.

The government and United Nations say ex-president Francois Bozize, who was forced out in a 2013 rebellion, is backing the rebels. He has not directly responded to that accusation.

More than 1 million of the 4.7 million people in the gold- and diamond-rich nation have fled their homes since Bozize's ouster, and vast swathes of territory remain beyond the central government's control. (Reporting by Antoine Rolland Writing by Bate Felix and Aaron Ross Editing by Mark Heinrich)