U.N. says Congolese security forces fired on monitors

DAKAR, Senegal — Congolese security forces shot at United Nations human-rights monitors and used excessive force against anti-government protesters on Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring at least 68 others, the U.N. said Tuesday.

Catholic churches and activists had called for the nationwide demonstrations urging President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo to step down as election delays drag on.

The protests turned violent as police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas and, in some cases, reportedly live ammunition. Police arrested 121 people, the U.N. said.

Among those injured was a U.N. human-rights officer who was kicked and punched by security forces in the capital, Kinshasa, while trying to monitor the demonstrations, U.N. human-rights spokesman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva. The officer had been wearing a clearly marked U.N. vest with a human-rights logo.

“He was in the right place at the right time. He was there to monitor the protests and the conduct of security forces in the context of the protests,” Shamdasani said. The U.N. team retreated after the officer was surrounded by Congolese military and police, but when they returned to continue monitoring they were shot at, she said. It was not clear whether live ammunition was used.