Congo protest repression results in dozens of deaths

After video of an assault on a policeman was shared on social media, an anti-UN demonstration was violently put down.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced on Thursday that at least 40 people were murdered and 56 more were hurt when Congolese military forcibly put down a demonstration against the MONUSCO peacekeeping operation in Goma on Wednesday.

Although the UN’s human rights office claimed to have information suggesting the actual number of deaths may be greater, the official announcement from Kinshasa listed the death toll as 43. According to the officials, 158 more persons were taken into custody.

The incident is the subject of a military investigation launched by the government. Following the social media posting of video showing individuals in civilian garb hitting a tied-up policeman with sticks and stones, troops were reportedly ordered to disperse the protest. The protest’s organisers requested that participants behave peacefully, although Reuters was unable to confirm the source of the video.

According to branch director Anne-Sylvie Linder, many of those hurt in the savage crackdown showed up at the International Red Cross clinic following the protest with severe gunshot and stabbing wounds. “Some were dead when they arrived,” she continued, while video shared on social media claimed to show soldiers removing bodies from the street while driving a truck convoy through Goma.

In a statement following the killing, MONUSCO urged the Congolese government to “conduct a prompt and independent investigation” and to “treat those who have been detained with humanity and respect for their rights.” The mission expressed sympathy for those who had died in the melee and stated that it was still concerned about threats of violence.

At least 15 people were killed in a similar protest against MONUSCO last year, including three UN peacekeepers, as hundreds of civilians armed with rocks and petrol bombs clashed with well-armed UN troops while damaging and torching the buildings of the international mission, which the locals claim has failed to protect them against years of militia violence.

It started in Goma and moved to Butembo. Despite being instructed to limit their use of tear gas and warning shots for crowd control, a Reuters correspondent saw UN peacekeepers shoot and kill two protestors in Goma. After the 2022 protest, when protesters came upon their residences, some UN employees were transferred to camps under military protection.

The youth mission of the Congolese ruling party has called for the UN to leave the nation due to its alleged inefficiency. Despite MONUSCO’s reduction in size since November 2021, when it had more than 12,000 soldiers and 1,600 police deployed throughout the nation, tensions are still high as militia groups, some of which are linked to terrorist organisations like the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), continue to terrorise civilians despite the international presence that is supposed to drive them out.