The President of the Congo Democratic Republic, Joseph Kabila has refused to conduct fresh elections or step down, even as his term expires. This has led to demonstrations against him and heavy crackdown on the protesters.
Supporters of Kabila say logistical and financial issues mean a fresh election cannot take place until 2018, and it is the president’s duty to remain in power in the interim.
International media reports that the military and police are cracking down hard on protesters. According to the Guardian, 20 people died in protests yesterday and there are fears of widespread violence as the opposition takes to the streets.
Media reports indicate that 20 activists were rounded up in the Eastern city of Goma when they gathered in front of a government building, calling for Kabila to resign.
Security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have ignored intensifying international pressure to halt a wave of repression aimed at preventing any further protests against the government of President Joseph Kabila.
Police, paramilitaries and soldiers rounded up demonstrators and opposition activists across the vast central African country on Wednesday despite calls from the US, Britain, the European Union and the United Nations for authorities and security forces to respect human rights.
In a strongly worded statement, the US government said Kabila and local security forces had an “obligation to … respect the rights of Congolese citizens to assemble peacefully and express their opinions without fear of retaliation, retribution, or arbitrary arrest.”
The Guardian reports that a military truck full of youths apparently under arrest was being driven through the city centre, and in the south-eastern mining hub of Lubumbashi local activists said security forces had suppressed a protest, leaving 10 dead and more than 31 injured.
Though sporadic gunfire was heard early in the day, normal life appeared to be returning to the Kinshasa on Wednesday, with some shops opening after almost three days of shutdown. There remained a heavy security presence on the streets, however, with hundreds of police and armoured vehicles deployed to key sites.
There is no reliable count of the people detained over recent days, but estimates vary from the 275 admitted by police to more than 600. Col Pierre Mwanamputu, a police spokesman, said 116 people were still being detained.
Human rights groups and the UN say they have evidence that between 19 and 26 people were killed on Tuesday during scattered clashes in the capital, Kinshasa, and in Lubumbashi on Monday night and Tuesday. Nearly 50 people were wounded, they say.
The protests started at midnight on Monday with a chorus of whistles, klaxons and banging of cooking pots, and intensified over the next 12 hours as protesters burned tyres and set up makeshift barricades that were cleared by security forces using live ammunition and teargas.
The US and European powers had already imposed travel bans and asset freezes on individuals close to Kabila. Most are senior security officials accused of human rights abuses. They include the commander of military forces alleged to have been involved in the deaths of more than 60 people when troops opened fire on an opposition demonstration in September.