Protests were prohibited in North Kivu province in the east and the second city of Lubumbashi after the alliance called for nationwide protests following the Constitutional Court decision this month to let Kabila remain in a caretaker capacity after the expiry of his term in December.
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Police had earlier fired tear gas at protesters who burned tyres and blocked streets with rocks, said local civic leader Thomas d’Acquin Mwiti, who was at the demonstration.
Police in Congo’s capital Kinshasa fired tear gas to break up an opposition march today.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “No to a third mandate”, “People rise up” and “Kabila buzz off”.
Government officials have denied Kabila is seeking to cling to power.
The Kinshasa police say demonstrators failed to follow the route the organizers and the town hall had agreed on.
In Goma, at least one civilian was killed and two wounded by gunfire that most likely came from police, said Jose Maria Aranaz, director of the United Nations’ Congo-based human rights centre.
He said one police officer was killed when protesters threw stones.
National police spokesman Colonel Pierre Rombaut Mwanamputu confirmed that there were sporadic incidents and that “some arrests” were made.
Ban is “profoundly concerned by reports of increasing political tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo linked to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the country’s electoral process”, his spokesperson said.
The U.N. statement comes days after three Congolese activists, arrested hours before a general strike in February to demand that President Joseph Kabila leave power when his mandate expires this year, were sentenced to a year in prison.
Ban called for political dialogue to resolve differences and said the United Nations was ready to help.
Political unrest has hit the country for months over concerns that Kabila intends to extend his rule.
Supporters of Kabila say major logistic shortcomings need to be overcome and a “secure environment” established across Congo before the scheduled elections can be held.
With Kabila’s powerful rival, Moise Katumbi, 51, all but pushed into exile in South Africa, some dissidents in the central African country feel disillusioned.
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Katumbi was an ally of Kabila’s but broke with him in September after the president announced he would carve up DR Congo’s provinces, including Katumbi’s stronghold of Katanga, into smaller entities.
