The players of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last night they put one hand to their mouth and two fingers to their temple before they argued Abidjan (Ivory Coast) a semi-final of Africa Cup to protest the armed conflict in the east of the country, a gesture that went viral this Thursday on social networks.
The players and coaching staff, including the French coach Sebastien Desabrewhile the national anthem plays, they raise their right hand to their mouth in a sign of silence and two fingers of their left hand to their temple symbolizing a gun, to draw attention to the armed violence that has rocked this country.
This gesture went viral on Thursday on social networks in a campaign in which Congolese associations and citizens demand an end to the conflict through the hashtag #CaDoitCesser (“Gotta stop that” in French).
The players of the ‘Leopards’, as the national team is known, also sported a black armband on their right arm, as a sign of mourning and memory of all the victims of the conflict.
“Everybody sees the carnage east of Congo, but all remains silent. Use the same energy you put into talking about CAN (Africa Cup of Nations) to highlight what is happening to us, no small gesture,” the striker and new player of Betis said on Monday on his social network account X. Cédric Bakambu.
For his part, the captain of the Congolese team, Chancellor Mbembaalso released a message last Monday on X: “My thoughts are with all the victims of the brutality of Eraser and their families. “I pray with all my heart that my country will find peace again.”
The Congolese team made the symbolic gesture before the semifinal they played against the tournament host, Ivory Coast. The Ivorian team won 1-0 in a match where the forward of Borussia Dortmund Sebastian Haller scored the winning goal.
Since 1998, eastern DRC has been embroiled in a conflict fueled by rebel militias and the Army, despite the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (Monusco).
The conflict has worsened since 2022, when the powerful March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group reactivated, fighting the Congolese Army in battles that have displaced more than 2.5 million people, according to the UN.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
