Fury Erupts In DR Congo As Protesters Set Fire To US, Belgian Flags Amid Attacks

Fury Erupts In DR Congo As Protesters Set Fire To US, Belgian Flags Amid Attacks

In Kinshasa, protesters venting their anger against the insecurity in eastern Congo set fire to tyres and flags from the United States and Belgium near Western embassies and UN offices, prompting the police to employ teargas to disperse them…..READ ALSO Abuja Rises Against Kidnapping: Protesters Demand Action As 10 Suspects Nabbed

The demonstrators have shifted their focus to embassies, accusing the West of supporting Rwanda, which is alleged to be backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebellion threatening the key city of Goma in the East. Rwanda, however, denies these accusations.

Reports reveal that Congolese authorities, along with Western governments like the United States and Belgium, as well as a United Nations expert group, have accused Rwanda of supporting the rebel group.

Despite heightened security measures following the attack on U.N. staff and vehicles on Saturday, protesters gathered at the U.S. and French embassies and MONUSCO offices in Congo.

Some protesters vandalized surveillance cameras at a United States embassy office, while others shouted slogans such as “Leave our country, we don’t want your hypocrisy.”

Fabrice Malumba, a motorcyclist participating in the protest outside the United States embassy, claimed, “The international community remains silent while Congolese are being killed; they finance Rwanda.”

Pepin Mbindu, another protester, proclaimed, “The Westerners are behind the looting of our country; Rwanda doesn’t work alone, so they must leave our country.”

Videos circulating on social media purportedly show a protester removing the EU flag from a prominent hotel’s entrance in central Kinshasa, although Reuters has not independently verified their authenticity.

In response, the police utilized tear gas and pursued the demonstrators.

“As you can see, we are ensuring the security of the partner embassies of the Democratic Republic of Congo in accordance with the Vienna Convention,” stated Kinshasa police chief, General Blaise Mbula Kilimba Limba.

Congo’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, held a meeting with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions in Kinshasa on Sunday, assuring them of enhanced security measures to protect their representations.

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Africa’s wealthiest individual, business magnate Aliko Dangote, held talks with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi. The discussions centered on potential investments in the mining and agricultural sectors, considering Congo’s status as the leading global supplier of cobalt and the top producer of copper in Africa.