Calm is not about to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo, after a week marked by demonstrations against the presence of the UN. At least two people were killed in gunfire by blue helmets at a border post with Uganda, said the UN mission in the DRC (Monusco) and a local official. “Soldiers from the Intervention Brigade of the Monusco force returning from leave opened fire at the border post for unexplained reasons and forced their way through. This serious incident caused loss of life and serious injuries, ”deplores the UN mission in a press release without providing a precise assessment.
“The balance sheet is two dead,” said Joël Kitausa, a civil society official from Kasindi, who reported 14 injured. The head of Monusco, Bintou Keita, said she was “deeply shocked and dismayed by this serious incident”, according to the mission statement. “Faced with this unspeakable and irresponsible behavior, the perpetrators of the shooting have been identified and arrested pending the conclusions of the investigation which has already begun in collaboration with the Congolese authorities”, specifies Monusco.
Penalties expected
“Contacts have also been established with the country of origin of these soldiers so that legal proceedings can be initiated urgently with the participation of victims and witnesses, so that exemplary sanctions can be taken as soon as possible”, adds the mission. UN. Earlier in the day, Barthélemy Kambale Siva, delegated official of the governor of North Kivu in Kasindi, had given a report of eight seriously injured including two police officers who were committed at the barrier of the border post.
Demonstrations last week demanding the departure of the UN left a total of 19 dead, including three peacekeepers. The demonstrators accused the Blue Helmets of inefficiency in the fight against the hundred armed groups responsible for the chaos in which the eastern provinces of the country are plunged. The UN has been present in the DRC since 1999, and currently maintains 14,000 peacekeepers there, with an annual budget of one billion dollars.