At least 15 people have been killed and dozens of others injured during two days of demonstrations in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo against the United Nations mission in the country, officials said.
The Associated PressA demonstrator hurls back a tear gas canister during a protest against the UN peacekeeping mission in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Tuesday.The United Nations confirmed that one peacekeeper and two international officers serving with the UN peacekeeping force were killed and another injured at the UN base in Butembo in North Kivu province in the east when "violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police" and fired on the UN personnel.
"Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire," Haq said. "We are trying to calm things down" including by dispatching quick reaction forces but there is no evidence the violence has ended.In addition, Haq said at least four incidents targeted the residences of MONUSCO staff, who have now been relocated to UN camps.
The government spokesperson didn't say what caused the deaths but described the response by security forces and peacekeepers as "warning shots to disperse the demonstrators and prevent any attack on the @MONUSCO base and installations," he said on his Twitter account. MONUSCO's acting head Khassim Diagne and UN spokesperson Haq condemned the killings of UN personnel. Haq said UN peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix, who is currently in Mali, will be traveling to Congo "at his earliest opportunity."
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