Three peacekeepers killed in DR Congo

Confidence on UN soldiers is low among Congolese victims of militias

GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) — Three United Nations (UN) peacekeepers and at least 12 demonstrators have been killed in escalating anti-UN protests in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), officials said on Tuesday.

Anger has been fueled by perceptions that MONUSCO, the UN mission in the DRC, is failing to do enough to stop attacks by armed groups.

Crowds on Monday stormed a MONUSCO headquarters and supply base in Goma, the chief city in North Kivu province, and the protests spread on Tuesday to Beni and Butembo to the north.

Butembo police chief Colonel Paul Ngoma said three peacekeepers there — two Indians and a Moroccan — had been killed and another injured, while seven demonstrators had died and several others were wounded.

MONUSCO stated on Tuesday that one soldier and two military police officers serving with the UN had been killed in an attack on its base in Butembo. Another peacekeeper was gravely wounded.

“Assailants violently snatched weapons from elements of the Congolese National Police and fired at point-blank range at our peacekeepers,” MONUSCO said, adding that it “strongly condemns” the attack.

Morocco’s army also released a statement confirming that one Moroccan peacekeeper had been shot dead, with 20 of the North African country’s MONUSCO contingent also wounded during recent unrest.

Assailants violently snatched weapons.

Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, warned reporters in New York that the situation on the ground is “very volatile.” “Reinforcements are being mobilized,” he said.