At least 48 dead in the repression of an anti-UN demonstration in the DRC

At least 48 civilians and a policeman died Wednesday in Goma in a military operation intended to prevent a demonstration against the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to an internal document of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) consulted on Thursday.

According to this document authenticated by military and intelligence sources, the toll of Wednesday’s operation in this region plagued by violence amounts to “48 dead” and “75 injured” on the protesters’ side, as well as a policeman kill.

The document specifies that “a few bladed weapons (have been) seized” and that 168 people were arrested “among (which) the guru” Efraimu Bisimwa, of the sect “Judaic and Messianic natural faith towards the nations”, organizer of the demonstration prohibited.

In a press release published late in the evening, the Kinshasa government put forward a toll of “43 deaths, 56 injured (and) 158 people apprehended, including the leader of the sect.”

He said he supported “the investigation opened by the military prosecutor’s office (…) so that responsibilities are cleared and the guilty can answer for their actions before the courts.”

In two videos filmed in a district of Goma and widely shared on social networks, we see soldiers wearing the uniform of an elite unit throwing a dozen lifeless bodies into the back of a military vehicle. Some bloody corpses are dragged on the ground.