GOMA, DR Congo
Protesters stormed a United Nations base in the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Monday demanding the departure of peacekeepers from the region.
Hundreds of people blocked
roads and chanted anti-UN slogans before storming the headquarters of the UN
peacekeeping mission in Goma, as well as a logistical base on the outskirts of
the city.
The protesters smashed windows
and looted computers, furniture and other valuables from the headquarters,
The UN peacekeeping mission in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, has come under regular local
criticism for its perceived inability to stop fighting in the conflict-torn
east.
Over 120 armed groups roam the
volatile region, where conflict has displaced millions of people and civilian
massacres are common.
The latest protest comes after
the president of the Congolese senate, Modeste Bahati, told supporters in Goma
on July 15 that MONUSCO should "pack its bags".
Ahead of Monday's protest, the
Goma youth branch of the ruling UDPS party released a statement demanding
MONUSCO "withdraw from Congolese soil without conditions because it has
already proved its incapacity to provide us with protection".
Khassim Diagne, the deputy
special representative of the UN secretary general to MONUSCO,said the UN is
not opposed to protests but that violence is unacceptable. - AFP
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