The death toll from days of protests against the UN mission in eastern DRC has risen to at least 22. At least 67 people were injured, some seriously. The riots started Monday when protesters broke into a UN building in the city of Goma in the troubled province of North Kivu. Security forces responded with tear gas and gunfire.
On Wednesday, protests spread to the town of Uvira, further south.
Civil society organizations had initially spoken of six deaths. On Tuesday evening, the government spoke of 18 victims, including a blue helmet soldier, two UN police officers and 15 civilians.
The government and the UN mission MONUSCO condemned the attacks. Civil society organizations and President Félix Tshisekedi’s party had previously called for the demonstration in Goma.
The Blue Helmets have been in the northeast of the country for more than 20 years. It is the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world.
Source: Krone
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