U.N. ‘Peacekeepers’ Kill Two in D.R. Congo ‘for Unexplained Reasons’

An undisclosed number of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeepers opened fire “for unexplained reasons” on a group of people at a border checkpoint between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda on Sunday killing at least two Congolese people and injuring 15 others, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known by its French acronym, MONUSCO) confirmed the border checkpoint violence on Sunday, adding that it had already made arrests in connection with the incident. The DRC government said that an investigation into the shooting was underway.

MONUSCO acknowledged that an unspecified number of its peacekeepers opened fire on a crowd of people “for unexplained reasons” in eastern DRC’s Kasindi town on July 31. The U.N. mission in Kasindi described the perpetrators of the shooting as “soldiers from the intervention brigade of the MONUSCO force returning from leave.”

It remained unclear on Monday why the U.N. staff chose to shoot at the crowd. Video footage of the incident circulating online and reviewed by AFP appears to show a group of men, including one wearing a police uniform and another clad in army fatigues, “advancing towards the immobilised UN convoy behind a closed barrier,” according to the news agency.

“After a verbal exchange, the peacekeepers appeared to open fire before opening the barrier and driving through while people scattered or hid,” AFP detailed.

DRC nationals have increasingly voiced opposition to MONUSCO’s presence in DRC for months, with the public pressure exploding into anti-U.N. riots last week. Mobs of young Congolese men and children stormed MONUSCO’s headquarters and supply base in DRC’s Goma city on July 25. The looting extended north on July 26 from Goma to the cities of Beni and Butembo where it caused the deaths of at least three U.N. peacekeepers and 12 rioters.

Goma, Beni, and Butembo are all located in DRC’s historically restive eastern region of North Kivu. More than 120 militant groups have roamed eastern DRC for years, plaguing the area with attacks on civilians that cause mass displacement. Congolese nationals rioted and looted facilities tied to MONUSCO last week reportedly out of frustration with the unit for failing to curb local militant attacks.

“The UN first deployed an observer mission to eastern Congo in 1999,” AFP recalled on July 26. “In 2010, it became the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO […] with a mandate to conduct offensive operations.”