In response to rising insecurity in eastern Congo, demonstrators in the Democratic Republic of Congo clashed with police on Monday, burning tires and setting fire to US and Belgian flags near Western embassies and UN offices in the capital Kinshasa.
The protesters, adopting a new strategy by focusing on embassies, allege that the West is supporting neighboring Rwanda, which is accused of backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebellion.
Rwanda has denied the allegations, but Congo, along with Western governments such as the United States and Belgium, as well as a United Nations expert group, maintains that the rebel group receives support from Rwanda.
Despite heightened security following the attack on UN staff and vehicles on Saturday, protesters gathered at the U.S. and French embassies and the offices of the United Nations mission in Congo (MONUSCO).
Some protesters attempted to break surveillance cameras at a US embassy office, while others chanted anti-Western slogans. A demonstrator was seen removing the EU flag from the entrance of a hotel in central Kinshasa, as shown in unauthenticated videos shared online.
Pepin Mbindu, a protester, expressed his discontent, stating, “The Westerners are behind the looting of our country, Rwanda doesn’t work alone, so they must leave our country.”
During the demonstration in front of the United States embassy, Fabrice Malumba, a motorcycle driver, accused the international community of remaining silent about the violence in Congo and supporting Rwanda financially.
In response, police fired tear gas and dispersed the protesters. Congo’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, assured ambassadors of security measures to protect their representations in Kinshasa.
“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,” General Blaise Mbula Kilimba Limba, Kinshasa police chief, told media.
Decades of conflicts in eastern Congo, fueled by rival armed groups vying for land and resources, have resulted in brutal attacks on civilians, causing the death of hundreds of thousands and displacing over 7 million. Congo is a major global supplier of cobalt and Africa’s leading copper producer.
