In the Congo this past Monday, marches protesting what they claim is a bid by President Joseph Kabila to extend his mandate, turned violent as they clashed with police, killing at least 17 people.
Thousands attended the protest that comes compounded with growing local and international pressure on Kabila to step down in December when his term of office legally ends.
The opposition accuses him of plotting to extend his tenure until at least next year, by delaying elections that were supposed to be held in November.
The president of the opposition party Reformist Forces for Union and Solidarity (FONUS) Joseph Olenga Nkoy claims 53 people were killed in the clashes, while a local rights official had the number of protesters shot at 25. Three policemen also were killed.
“The sad and painful death toll from these barbaric and extremely savage acts is as follows: 17 dead of which three were policemen,” said Interior Minister Evariste Boshab, condemning “the use of violence to incite disorder and chaos”.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed the death toll and urged Congolese national security forces to exercise restraint. The US was prompted to threaten for further economic sanctions in protest of the violence.
Angry mobs torched the offices of politicians loyal to Kabila and tore down giant posters of the president, chanting in French: “It’s over for you” and “We don’t want you”.
Rights groups reported that dozens of arrests of protesters and journalists had been made in the capital, as well as in Goma and Kisangani, where anti-government marches also took place.
By mid-afternoon, most protesters had been dispersed and the streets were quiet, but in a sign that further unrest could be ahead, opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi called for further protests in a statement late on Monday.
“[The opposition coalition] calls upon the Congolese population from this day forth to intensify and amplify the popular mobilization every day until December 19,” said a spokesman for Tshisekedi’s UDPS party, referring to the day Kabila is officially due to step down.
According to a statement released on Sunday, Kabila’s supporters also plan a loyalty march this weekend and staunchly deny any wrongdoing on Kabila’s part.
