AFRICA/CONGO RD - Apparent calm in Kinshasa; the number of the victims due to recent clashes remains uncertain

Thursday, 22 September 2016 politics  

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – There is apparent calm in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were demonstrations were held in the city with clashes and also casualties among security forces and opposition (see Fides 21/09/2016), with an official provisional toll of 32 dead and a hundred injured. According to the main opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the toll is much more serious.
"Circulation has returned to normal while shops and offices have reopened" local sources told Agenzia Fides.
On September 19, "Le Rassemblement", a group of opposition parties supporting the candidate Etienne Tshisekedi, UDPS leader, had called on its supporters to take to the streets to "remind President Joseph Kabila of his eviction" three months after the expiry of his second term, on 20 December. The date of the presidential elections has not yet been set.
The UN Security Council has called for calm and stressed "the crucial importance" of the presidential election to be held "in accordance with the Constitution". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 22/09/2016)


Share: