(Goma) Three members of the UN mission and at least 12 demonstrators were killed on Tuesday in two towns in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the second day of demonstrations against the United Nations, accused of ineffectiveness in the fight against armed groups.
Posted at 3:03 p.m.
Updated at 6:37 p.m.
In Butembo, the third city in the province of North Kivu, “three dead among the members of Monusco (UN Mission in the DRC), two Indians and a Moroccan, and one injured” were recorded and on the “demonstrator side , seven dead and several injured,” said Colonel Paul Ngoma, head of the urban police.
It is “a Blue Helmet and [de] two members of the United Nations Police,” Monusco said in a statement, adding that “attackers violently snatched weapons from elements of the Congolese National Police and fired at point-blank range at our peacekeeping forces.” .
The UN mission “strongly condemns this attack which nothing justifies”, she added.
During a joint press conference with the number two of Monusco in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed the death toll of 15 and reported 61 injured in the recent unrest. “In no case is the violence justified,” he said, adding that “a joint investigation” would be carried out.
Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman, told reporters in New York that the situation on the ground was “very unstable” and that “reinforcements are being mobilised”.
In Butembo, an important commercial hub where seven people were killed, activities were paralyzed throughout the day.
In front of a Monusco base, demonstrators were dispersed by the security forces, according to several witnesses. “Among these young people, there are weapons,” Colonel Ngoma had lamented earlier.
In Goma, the provincial capital, the incident killed “five people” among the demonstrators, according to Mr. Muyaya.
An AFP correspondent on the spot noted the death of a demonstrator, hit in the head by a bullet apparently fired from inside the Monusco logistics base around 11 a.m. (9 a.m. GMT). A Congolese army ambulance then picked up the body.
Early in the morning, hundreds of demonstrators had invaded the surroundings of the Monusco logistics base in Goma and attacked the mission’s transit camp located outside the city center.
“We no longer want Monusco”, “bye bye Monusco”, chanted posters of this “campaign”. The Congolese security forces had difficulty containing the crowd around the logistics base.
“Looters”
In the DRC, demonstrations are regularly organized to demand the departure of the Blue Helmets, accused of ineffectiveness in the fight against dozens of local and foreign armed groups which have destabilized the east of the country for nearly 30 years.
In Beni, a town 350 km from the capital of North Kivu, activities were also paralyzed by anti-Monusco demonstrators.
In several neighborhoods, protesters burned tires. Gas stations remained closed as well as shops and markets.
Soldiers were deployed on National Road No. 4 which leads to the local Monusco base.
Hundreds of demonstrators had already taken to the streets on Monday in Goma, at the call of civil society organizations and President Félix Tshisekedi’s party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS).
After storming the Monusco headquarters and its logistics base, they broke windows, walls and looted computers, chairs, tables and valuables.
The Congolese government had condemned “any form of attack against United Nations personnel and installations”, promising that “those responsible [seraient] prosecuted and severely punished”.
Present in the DRC since 1999, MONUC (UN Mission in Congo) which became Monusco (UN Mission for Stabilization in the DRC) in 2010, currently has more than 14,000 peacekeepers. It is one of the largest and costliest UN missions in the world, with an annual budget of one billion dollars.
“Our most ardent wish is to see the east [de la RDC] stabilized”, assured Khassim Diagne, deputy head of Monusco during the joint press conference.
Canadian peacekeepers safe and sound
The federal government also confirmed on Tuesday that all Canadian peacekeepers are safe after the second day of protests.
The Department of National Defense and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have both assured that all Canadian personnel in Congo are safe and sound.
The UN said Canada had nine police officers and eight military officers in Congo at the end of March, but the Ministry of Defense points out that there are currently only six members of the Armed Forces there.
With The Canadian Press and The Associated Press