Peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) patrol during demonstrations against Congolese President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa, yesterday.
Kinshasa: Security forces fired teargas and arrested youths gathered in the streets of Kinshasa yesterday to demand that Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila step down after his mandate expired overnight.
At least two civilians were killed overnight when soldiers opened fire during clashes in the neighbourhood of Kingabwa, two witnesses said. The government spokesman could not be reached for comment and a police spokesman could not confirm the information.
Limited protests started yesterday after opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi called on the Congolese people to peacefully resist Kabila, who has remained in power beyond his constitutional mandate and with no election to pick a successor.
Sporadic gunfire crackled in several districts of the capital Kinshasa, a city of 12 million, as measures to thwart dissent fanned fears of more violence.
But with a ban on demonstrations in force, and a heavy military presence, Kinshasa's normally busy main boulevards were for the most part deserted as pockets of youths gathered in sidestreets only to be dispersed with the volleys of teargas.
UN peacekeepers in armoured personnel carriers patrolled the streets, at one point cheered on by a crowd shouting: "Kabila, know that your mandate is finished!"
"I think there will be trouble. The people are saying Kabila has to leave," said student Joe Doublier. "It's been 16 years and nothing has changed".
In Lubumbashi, police and Kabila's elite military Republican Guard unit fired live bullets to prevent demonstrations, Gregoire Mulamba, a local human rights activist, said.
But the mayor of Lubumbashi, Jean Oscar Sanguza, said security forces had intervened to stop looters.
"I launch a solemn appeal to the Congolese people to not recognise the ... illegal and illegitimate authority of Joseph Kabila and to peacefully resist (his) coup d'etat," Tshisekedi said.
Authorities have blocked most social media.
Such restrictive measures have raised fears of more violence in a nation that has never had a peaceful transfer of power and has suffered near-constant war and instability in the two decades since the fall of kleptocrat Mobutu Sese Seko.
The US and European Union have called for Kabila to respect the constitution.
Congo's former colonial master Belgium said it would "re-examine" relations with Kabila after he failed to step down. France urged the European Union re-examine its links with Congo because of the "seriousness of the situation".
Scores of protesters have been arrested in the past 24 hours, mostly in the eastern city of Goma, according to human rights groups.
