Anti-U.N. Protests Kill at Least 15 in D.R. Congo

Violent protests against the presence of the United Nations (U.N.) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu province continued on Tuesday for the second straight day, resulting in the deaths of at least three U.N. peacekeepers and 12 rioters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Masses of people stormed the headquarters and supply base of MONUSCO (U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on July 25 in Goma, North Kivu’s chief city. The mob action spread north on July 26 from Goma to the North Kivu cities of Beni and Butembo.

“Butembo police chief Colonel Paul Ngoma said three peacekeepers there — two Indians and a Moroccan — had been killed and another injured, while seven demonstrators had died and several others were wounded,” AFP reported on July 26.

The news agency detailed the riot on July 25, citing the eyewitness account of an AFP reporter on the ground at the time.

“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,” AFP relayed.

“The protesters smashed windows and looted computers, furniture and other valuables from the headquarters, an AFP journalist witnessed, while UN police officers fired tear gas in a bid to push them back,” according to the news agency.

MONUSCO issued a press release on July 25 in which it said it “vigorously condemned the attack” on its Goma headquarters earlier that day. The U.N. mission said the riot was “carried out by a group of looters on the sidelines of a demonstration which, in addition, was banned by the mayor of Goma.”

MONUSCO further stated that it was “very concerned about this very serious incident which comes the day after hostile remarks and open threats issued by individuals and groups against the United Nations.”

The U.N. referred to comments likely stemming from a July 15 statement by the president of the DRC Senate, Modeste Bahati Lukwebo. The politician told his supporters in Goma that MONUSCO should “pack its bags.”

Bahati’s remarks came about two weeks after the U.N. reported that “the security situation in the [DRC’s] East has unfortunately deteriorated, especially due to intensified attacks by M23 against civilians, national security forces and MONUSCO.”

M23 stands for the “23 March Movement,” which is a militia that experienced a renewal in its fighting in November 2021 after lying dormant for years. Militants allied to M23 captured the North Kivu town of Bunagana, located along the DRC’s border with Uganda, around June 13. M23 is one of the 120-plus armed groups that have roamed the DRC’s eastern region for years, attacking civilians and causing mass displacement. The U.N. established MONUSCO in 2010 with the aim of deterring militant activity in eastern DRC, though the mission has received regular criticism from locals for seemingly failing to curb such violence.

“The UN first deployed an observer mission to eastern Congo in 1999,” according to AFP. “In 2010, it became the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO […] with a mandate to conduct offensive operations.”

MONUSCO currently has about 16,300 uniformed personnel stationed in the DRC.