Gunfire erupted in major DR Congo cities and the UN voiced alarm over a wave of arrests, as protesters demanded President Joseph Kabila step down after his mandate expired Tuesday. With fears of violence high in the vast and unstable nation, shots rang out in the capital Kinshasa, there was sustained gunfire in the country's second city of Lubumbashi, and the thud of heavy weapons in central Kananga.
Plumes of smoke from burning barricades hung over Kinshasa after overnight protests, and activity ground to a halt as troop carriers patrolled the largely empty streets of the megacity of 10 million. Tension has been mounting for months in Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of the December 20 deadline for Kabila's second and final term in office to end.
With no election planned and no sign of the president stepping down, veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi finally issued a plea to the country's 70 million people to reject the Kabila administration. The international community has warned of spiralling violence and France urged the government to "respect human rights" as the UN voiced alarm over the arrests of 113 opposition leaders and civil society activists in four days. "I am gravely concerned by the arrests of those who seek to express their political views," said Maman Sambo Sidikou, who heads the large UN mission in Congo.
An AFP correspondent said the streets of Lubumbashi's Matuba neighbourhood were strewn with rocks and burnt tyres early Tuesday amid a heavy police presence. Local authorities said "police were forced to fire into the air to disperse civilians" because some protesters were armed. It was impossible to immediately verify that claim.
In Kananga in central DR Congo, residents reported the sound of light and heavy arms near the airport. A priest said there were scenes of panic as residents fled the area. Several people are thought to have been killed in the unrest in various regions, but this has yet to be confirmed. National police spokesman Pierre-Rombaut Mwanamputu told AFP he was unable to give an immediate toll after the violence.