Beni – The UN peacekeepers opened fire and injured eight people in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being prevented from crossing an immigration post from Uganda, a local official said.
Video of the incident, shared on social media showed men, at least one in police uniform and another in army uniform, advancing towards the immobilised UN convoy behind a closed barrier in Kasindi. The town is in eastern DRC’s Beni territory on the border with Uganda.
After a verbal exchange, the peacekeepers appeared to open fire before opening the gate, driving on and continuing to shoot while people scattered or hid.
Barthelemy Kambale Siva, the North Kivu governor’s representative in Kasindi, said that “eight people, including two policemen who were working at the barrier, were seriously injured” in the incident.
Kambale Siva, interviewed by AFP, did not give a reason for why the UN convoy was prevented from crossing the barrier.
There are more than 120 militias operating in the DRC’s troubled east. The UN first deployed an observer mission to the region in 1999.
Beni, 29 Jul 22. MALBATT troops continue to help civilians in KASINDI, MALBATT Medical team attended local civilians injured during demonstrations against MONUSCO. MONUSCO Force remains committed and cares for the local population of DRC. pic.twitter.com/4PX323c0Uw
— MONUSCO FORCE (@MonuscoF) July 31, 2022
In 2010, it became the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO – the United Nations Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – with a mandate to conduct offensive operations.
There have been 230 fatalities among them, according to the UN.
Last week, deadly demonstrations demanding the departure of the United Nations took place in several towns in eastern DRC.
A total of 19 people, including three peacekeepers, were killed.
Anger has been fuelled by perceptions that MONUSCO is failing to do enough to stop attacks by the armed groups.
UN under-secretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix was in the central African country on Saturday to “talk to the Congolese authorities”, he said.
“(They would) examine ways in which we can both avoid a recurrence of these tragic incidents and, above all, work better together to achieve our objectives,” he said.
“We hope that the conditions will be met, in particular the return of state authority, so that MONUSCO can complete its mission as soon as possible. And to leave room for other forms of international support.”
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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