At least 48 people have been killed in a crackdown on an anti-UN protest in eastern DR Congo, as reported by local sources
On Wednesday, Congolese soldiers took a heavy-handed approach in suppressing a religious sect’s planned demonstration against United Nations peacekeepers in the city of Goma.
Initial reports indicated approximately ten casualties, which included a police officer who was lynched by sect members. However, an internal army document, independently verified by security officials, revealed a far grimmer toll. The document confirmed that 48 people lost their lives during the crackdown, in addition to the slain police officer, and an alarming 75 individuals were left wounded.
The same document detailed that soldiers apprehended 168 individuals, among them the leader of the religious sect, and confiscated numerous bladed weapons.
Congolese pro-democracy activist group LUCHA also released a statement on Thursday, asserting that the number of protesters killed was “close to 50.”
On social media platforms, two unverified video clips circulated on Thursday, seemingly depicting Congolese soldiers tossing lifeless bodies, some covered in blood, into the back of a military vehicle.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern region has endured three decades of militia violence, stemming from the legacy of regional wars that ignited in the 1990s and 2000s. The United Nations maintains one of the world’s largest and most expensive peacekeeping missions in the region, with an annual budget of approximately $1 billion (915,000,000 euros).
Despite its presence, the UN mission has faced sharp criticism within the central African nation. Many residents perceive the peacekeepers as ineffective in preventing ongoing conflicts.