Police and Army fired on Monday to disperse protesters against the United Nations Mission in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco), near a base in Beni, after the death of Congolese at the hands of “blue helmets”.
Police They fired tear gas and the soldiers fired shots into the air. to disperse dozens of protesters against MONUSCO in Beni, a city in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Congolese security forces set up tents and security perimeters in front of Monusco’s facilities in the city of Beni. The ‘blue helmets’ also reinforced security measures at their facilities with armored cars and battle tanksthe news agency said.
“We are facing a force that has all the military, logistical and financial means to put an end to the activities of the armed groups, but it does not use them, so we are asking these tourists to leave,” said Losuire Shabani, of the movement. pro-democratic Luta por el Cambio (Struggle).
“We are going to demonstrate, until we actually get him to leave, because now the peacekeepers kill us instead of the armed militiamen,” he added, while sending messages to mobilize the protesters.
Monusco has been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1999 with the mission of neutralizing hundreds of local and foreign armed groups active in eastern Congo.
After dispersing, the protesters paralyzed Beni with barriers erected on the main arteries, preventing the circulation of cars and motorcycleswhile the security forces remained visible in various strategic corners of the city of 800,000 inhabitants, according to the latest estimates from the City Council.
In neighboring South Kivu province, dozens of protesters who tried to block the road connecting Uvira, high up in Sange, were dispersed “without interruption” by police, said Marcel Matabishi, the city’s chief.
On Sunday, peacekeepers returning from leave in Uganda opened fire before opening the barrier and crossing the Congolese border at the Kasindi border post in Beni. Two people died and 15 were injured.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said he was “outraged”, Monusco treated this shooting as a “serious incident”, “indescribable and irresponsible”, while the Congolese government condemned this incident and asked the population to “shut up”.
Source: Observadora
