Congolese forces were denounced by human rights groups after a bloody crackdown. (photo: Robert Carrubba/Reuters)
More
Than Two Dozen People Killed in DRC Protests After President's Term Expires
By Al Jazeera
21 December 16
Fears grow after Human Rights Watch reports at least 26 people
killed in demonstrations as Joseph Kabila refuses to go.
Security
forces in Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 26 demonstrators and
arrested scores more amid growing protests against Joseph Kabila's hold on
power, according to a human rights group.
Despite
the bloodshed overnight, the situation was calm early on Wednesday.
The
killings on Tuesday were the first reported since Kabila's mandate to rule
ended on Monday at midnight after 15 years as president. He has refused to cede
power until new elections are held, which may not happen until 2018.
Protesters
set fire to the headquarters of the ruling party in the capital, Kinshasa.
Military
and police forces fired live rounds, raising fears more people may have been
killed, New York-based Human Rights Watch said.
Its
researcher, Ida Sawyer, said on Twitter the killings took place in Kinshasa,
the southern city of Lubumbashi, and elsewhere.
Residents
also told the group Republican Guards were carrying out door-to-door searches
and arresting young people. Authorities have also blocked most social media.
Political
talks between the ruling party and opposition, which stalled over the weekend,
were expected to resume on Wednesday with mediators from the Catholic church.
'End
of the match'
Kabila,
who took office in 2001 after his father's assassination, is constitutionally
barred from seeking another term, but a court has ruled he can remain in power
until new elections, which have been delayed indefinitely. The poll was meant
to be held in November, but the ruling party said it needs more time - until
2018, at least.
The
leader of Congo's largest opposition party, Etienne Tshisekedi, urged peaceful
resistance to what he called Kabila's "coup d'etat".
In a
statement posted on YouTube on Tuesday, he called the president's actions
"treason" and appealed to the Congolese people and the international
community to no longer recognise Kabila's authority.
The
political impasse has fuelled fears of widespread unrest in the central African
nation, which has vast natural resources but remains one of the world's poorest
and most unstable countries.
Negotiations
have stalled over a date for new elections and the release of political
prisoners.
Both
are key demands of the opposition parties, along with the dropping of criminal
charges against opposition leader Moise Katumbi, who fled the country as
authorities announced plans to prosecute him for allegedly hiring mercenaries.
Katumbi's
supporters say the charges are politically motivated.
Dozens
of people were killed in September when the
opposition took to the streets after the electoral commission
failed to schedule the presidential election.
Western
powers are nervous about a repeat of the conflicts between 1996 and 2003 that
killed millions, drew in half a dozen neighbouring armies, and saw rebel
fighters rape women en masse.
Congo
has not experienced a peaceful transition of power since independence from
Belgium in 1960.
C 2015 Reader Supported News
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