Demonstrators attack embassies of France, Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the United States in Kinshasa.
Protesters demanding action over the M23 rebel group’s offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have attacked several embassies in the capital, Kinshasa.
Crowds of demonstrators attacked the embassies of France, Belgium, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the United States on Tuesday, and smoke could be seen rising from the French embassy after a fire erupted.
Protesters denounced international inaction over the conflict, targeting the embassies of countries they accuse of complicity in Rwanda’s alleged support for the rebel group, which Kigali denies.
France’s foreign minister said in a post on X that the attack on the embassy was “unacceptable”. Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed that the embassy building briefly caught fire, but said the blaze was brought under control.
Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, some of whom burned tyres and clashed with the police.
“Kenya is deeply concerned by the attacks on our Embassy offices and personnel in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by a riotous mob protesting the violent conflict in Eastern DRC,” Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi said in a statement.
“The violent attacks, looting, and destruction of property are a grave violation of international law,” he added.
Speaking on national television, DRC’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from violence against accredited consular infrastructure. He later said the situation was under control.
Rebels enter Goma
The March 23 Movement (M23) on Monday claimed to have taken control of Goma, the largest city in North Kivu province in eastern DRC.
Since last week, at least 17 United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in the fighting, including three South African peacekeepers killed on Monday when the rebels launched an attack at the Goma airport.
M23 is one of hundreds of armed groups operating in the eastern DRC and seeking to control critical mineral mines.
The UN, the DRC and several other countries accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels. Rwanda has consistently denied the allegation.
The group is composed of Tutsi fighters and claims it is battling for the rights of the DRC’s minority Tutsi population. It emerged in 2012 after a group from the armed forces of the DRC (FARDC) broke away, complaining of ill-treatment.
Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Nairobi, said that many people in the DRC believe that Rwanda and Uganda, whose embassies were attacked, have fuelled the conflict in the country’s east.
“The embassies of the Western countries, the US, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, are blamed at the very least as complicit for their military support and aid for Rwanda,” he said.
Webb said the sounds of gunfire and mortar fire in Goma had decreased and Congolese and allied soldiers have reportedly made more efforts to push back the rebels.
“The hospitals are inundated with hundreds of casualties, according to the UN and hospital sources,” he noted. “Many more people have been injured in the fighting and people there have told us they cannot seek medical care because it’s not safe in the streets due to the fighting.”
The UN Security Council is expected to meet late on Tuesday to discuss the conflict and the humanitarian crisis involved.
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