Witnesses say at least four people are dead after opposition protests against a delayed presidential election turned violent in Congo’s capital.
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A police officer told Xinhua earlier on Monday that the opposition protesters did not respect the engagements of itinerary as agreed by the authorities, and that the police were right to resist.
BGR Group said it would be pleading the case to Congress that – despite the initial unrest – there would be elections in Congo and a transition of power. The main opposition party’s headquarters was attacked and even set alight.
Kabila, who has ruled DR Congo since 2001, is banned under the constitution from running again – but he has given no sign of intending to give up his job in December. His supporters deny this.
Monday marked the day that Congo’s electoral process should have kicked off ahead of November polls.
A statement by a State Department spokesperson, John Kirby, said the U.S.is “disappointed” that elections have not been announced as planned.
“It must be clearly stated and stipulated that the current president of the republic will not be a candidate in the next election, which must be held as soon as possible”, the Episcopal Conference of the Democratic Republic of Congo said in a statement.
In a further sign of growing tensions between Washington and Kinshasa, the USA embassy said on its Twitter feed that it was “outraged” by the harassment of its special envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Thomas Perriello, at Kinshasa’s airport.
The US embassy in the DRC confirmed on Twitter that Perriello had been harassed at an airport in the central African country.
France on Monday described the unrest as “very risky and extremely worrying” and urged Kabila to lay out a clear timetable for a vote. He told reporters at the United Nations in NY that if elections are “delayed endlessly, that means that Kabila intends to stay in power”.
The protests were organized by activists who are opposed to longtime President Joseph Kabila, who is now expected to stay in office after his mandate ends in December.
Congo’s government spokesman, Lambert Mende, condemned the burning of opposition party buildings as well as attacks on other buildings by opposition protesters.
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“The secretary-general urges all concerned political leaders and their supporters to refrain from any further violence that could exacerbate the situation”.
