The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday used force to disperse a protest against the United Nations in the eastern city of Goma, killing at least 43 people and injuring 56, plus 158 arrests.
The U.N. was horrified by the violence deployed against the protesters, especially after footage emerged on social media showing DRC soldiers piling up dead civilians in trucks and carting them through Goma.
DR Congo: 7 victims of the carnage carried out by the army against unarmed civilians demanding the departure of @MONUSCO yesterday in Goma.
— African News feed. (@africansinnews) August 31, 2023
Other bodies are notably hidden in the Katindo camp military hospital. pic.twitter.com/meG2L8dtVQ
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday authenticated these videos and said it has “credible reports that most of the bodies were being kept in a morgue at a military hospital, to which the deceased’s family members are not allowed access.”
“Congolese military forces appear to have fired into a crowd to prevent a demonstration, an extremely callous as well as unlawful way to enforce a ban,” said HRW researcher Thomas Fessy.
“For two years, the military authorities have used the ‘state of siege’ – martial law – in North Kivu province to brutally crack down on fundamental liberties,” Fessy charged.
The protesters were also violent, laying siege to several posts manned by U.N. peacekeepers and inflicting a large number of stab wounds, according to Red Cross emergency doctors.
U.N. Human Rights Commission spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said her office was “extremely alarmed” by the killings in Goma, particularly since it has “received information indicating that the death toll may be higher.”
Shamdasani also expressed concern about possible human rights violations against the people who were arrested.
“People have a right to express themselves freely and to assemble peacefully, even if in protest at the United Nations and other actors. Authorities must facilitate the right to peaceful assembly,” she stated.
“We note the Government’s announcement that an investigation has been opened into this incident and call for it to be thorough, effective, and impartial. Such an investigation must also comprehensively examine the use force by the security forces. Those responsible for violations must be held to account, regardless of their affiliation,” she said.
Residents of the eastern Congo have been aggressively demonstrating against the U.N. since late July, demanding the removal of peacekeeping forces because they have failed to prevent terrorists and insurgent groups from murdering civilians.
On July 25, peacekeepers working for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (commonly known by its French acronym MONUSCO) opened fire with live ammunition against protesters who were vandalizing and looting U.N. offices and warehouses. A second such incident occurred a few days later in the city of Goma. By the end of July, at least 36 people had been killed and 170 wounded in clashes between U.N. forces and violent demonstrators. Four MONUSCO peacekeepers were among the dead.
MONUSCO condemned the use of force by its own personnel as “unspeakable and irresponsible behavior,” while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “saddened,” “dismayed,” and “outraged” by the killings.
Guterres emphasized the need to “establish accountability for these events.” Several MONUSCO officers were arrested while their actions were investigated. The U.N. said the countries of origin for these peacekeepers would be urged to begin “judicial proceedings with the participation of victims and witnesses so that appropriate sanctions can be handed down.”
The troops accused of excessive violence on Wednesday were not U.N. peacekeepers but DRC military forces. The DRC government said Goma Mayor Faustin Napenda Kapend banned the protest immediately after it was announced on August 23, but the protest proceeded in defiance of his orders.
The protesters in Goma were largely members of a Christian animist sect called the “Natural Judaic and Messianic Faith Towards the Nations.” The group wants both U.N. peacekeepers and troops from other African nations to withdraw from the eastern Congo. Rwanda and Uganda have both been accused of using proxy forces in the DRC to destabilize the country for their own ends.
Moleka Maregane, chief security officer for the sect, said that Congolese troops attacked a radio station and a place of worship in Goma on Wednesday, before the demonstration even began, and killed six people.
MONUSCO is attempting to withdraw from the DRC, but the exact timetable for its departure is unclear. DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has indicated he wants U.N. forces to leave after the December presidential election.
Guterres said in August that he envisions an “accelerated withdrawal” for MONUSCO, which is entering its “final phase” after 25 years in the Congo, but he warned that pulling out too quickly “could have consequences for the protection of civilians.”
