Police in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa, fired shots into the air on Thursday to disperse an angry crowd, days after clashes between forces loyal to two rival presidential candidates killed at least 16 people.
Jean-Tobie Okala, spokesperson for the United Nations mission in the DRC (Monuc), said the crowd had gathered to demand the reopening of two television stations belonging to Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, who is in a run-off presidential poll against incumbent Joseph Kabila.
”Initial information suggests it was police who fired into the air to disperse the people gathered to demand the reopening of CCTV and Canal Kin,” Okala said.
The incident occurred as a joint European Union and United Nations force patrolled the streets of Kinshasa to enforce a truce between soldiers loyal to Bemba and Kabila.
The agreement that both sides should withdraw from the capital followed two days of clashes triggered by the publication on Sunday of provisional first-round presidential election results that gave Kabila 44,8% of the vote against 20% for Bemba.
Sixteen people were killed in the violence, according to a provisional death toll on Wednesday that was expected to rise considerably. Police said more bodies were still being found. — AFP
