At least two people were yesterday wounded as police fired live bullets and tear gas to break up a banned protest against Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) President Joseph Kabila in Kisangani, the country’s third-largest city, an Agence France-Presse reporter said.
Hundreds starting marching after Mass at the city’s cathedral, but were dispersed by security forces, the journalist said, adding that at least two people suffered bullet injuries.
The church-backed protest against Kabila’s refusal to step down after his long-expired mandate was banned by authorities. It had been called by the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), an organization close to the church, and an influential social and spiritual force.
Photo: Reuters
Previous protests on New Year’s Eve and Jan. 21 saw a total of 15 people killed by security forces, according to tolls given by organizers and the UN.
The government said that only two people died in those protests.
Kabila was due to stand down from office in December 2016, ending his second elected term, but he has controversially stayed on under laws enabling him to retain power until his successor is elected.
In January he accused the church of interfering in Congolese politics.
Hundreds of ruling party supporters on Saturday stormed Kinshasa Cathedral after authorities banned the march.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Kinshasa Police Commissioner General Sylvano Kasongo said he was under orders to “take measures to ensure the security of the population and to stop anyone who attempts to disturb public order.”
“The goal is to have zero casualties,” Kasongo said.
“I only hope there are no more deaths this time,” a senior military judge told reporters.
On Saturday evening, tensions were high in Kinshasa, where police put up barricades, searched vehicles and checked people’s IDs.
Kinshasa Governor Andre Kimbuta, meanwhile, told the Catholic organizers in a letter that without an agreed route, the city authorities “cannot guarantee proper supervision” of the demonstration.
On Friday, the EU, Switzerland and Canada issued a joint statement underscoring the “importance of respecting fundamental rights including the right to demonstrate.”
Political tension in the DR Congo has been mounting since September 2016, when clashes between youths and security forces left dozens of people dead in Kinshasa.
Fears have multiplied that the country, which experienced wars from 1996 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2003, could explode into violence once more.
The latest timetable to hold elections is for Dec. 23, two years later than scheduled, but Kabila has refused to state clearly whether he intends to stand again.
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