On
January 24 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one person
was fatally shot by police and several others were arrested in Beni town
while protesting the “state of siege” declared by President Felix
Tshisekedi in May 2021.
A local source informed ICC that chanting
erupted in the streets as early as 4:00 a.m., with protesters claiming
that the siege has done nothing to solve insecurity in the region.
“The
protesters started grouping and chanting early this morning and took to
the streets at 6:00 a.m., defying the crackling of bullets to disperse
them,” said the source. “They were demanding the lifting of the
siege that lasted eight months without any fruitful outcome. The police
engaged them in running battles until late in the evening where one
person is believed to have been killed by police. Shops, banks, schools,
and hotels remained closed as crowds drawn from different pressure
groups called for an end to the state of siege that has failed to solve
the conflict situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.”
The
protests come two months after Uganda deployed troops to the DRC in an
effort to defeat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group, an
affiliate of ISIS known to terrorize the primarily Christian nation.
The source continued, “The
people here are disappointed by the fact that the government is using
the state of siege to force the population to sleep at 7:00 p.m. and
extort money from those caught after curfew, yet the (extremist) Muslim
rebels continue to invade, kill, loot, and destroy property. The
president has his military men, from the governor, mayor, and the local
administrators, but we are still being oppressed under the imposed
siege.”
Over Christmas, six people were killed in a bomb
blast at the Ishango restaurant in Beni town. The local population,
which is primarily Christian, is asking for heightened security measures
that would allow them to return to normalcy and bring back the region’s
economic vibrancy. A church leader in Beni told ICC:
“The
president’s state of siege was a good thing in fighting terrorism in
these two provinces, but a keen end-to-end follow-up has been lacking
and that’s why the population is coming out to pressure the government
to reconsider these measures. Several groups wrote to the military mayor
of the city of Beni on January 19, notifying him that if the siege
continued, there shall be demonstrations today. He never bothered to
take any action. The church also sees this as harassment by the
government.”
The extent of damage and loss of lives
following the protests are not yet known. ICC will continue to monitor
the situation and provide any necessary updates.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
DRC under siege
For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.
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