15 killed, 50 hurt in anti-UN protests in Congo's east

Kinshasa: At least 15 people have been killed and dozens of others injured during two days of demonstrations in Congo's east against the United Nations mission in the country, officials said Tuesday.

The United Nations confirmed that one peacekeeper and two international policemen serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force were killed and another injured at the UN base in Butembo in North Kivu province in the east when violent attackers snatched weapons from Congolese police and fired on the UN personnel.

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said reports of civilian casualties, including reports of UN peacekeepers killing and injuring civilians, would be investigated. He said that on Tuesday hundreds of assailants again attacked bases of the UN force, known by its French acronym MONUSCO, in Goma as well as other parts of North Kivu fuelled by hostile remarks and threats made by individuals and groups against the U.N., particularly on social media.

Mobs are throwing stones and petrol bombs, breaking into bases, looting and vandalizing, and setting facilities on fire, Haq said. We are trying to calm things down including by dispatching quick reaction forces but there is no evidence the violence has ended. In addition, Haq said at least four incidents targeted the residences of MONUSCO staff, who have now been relocated to UN camps.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the fatal attack on peacekeepers serving in the United Nations mission in Congo that killed two Indian police and one Moroccan military personnel and injured an Egyptian police official.