Congo Protesters Burn US and Belgian Flags, Target Western Embassies – Reuters

By Ange Kasongo

KINSHASA – Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo used tear gas on Monday to disperse protesters who set fire to tires and flags of the U.S. and Belgium near Western embassies and U.N. offices in the capital, Kinshasa. The demonstrators expressed their anger over the insecurity in eastern Congo.

The protesters targeted embassies as part of a new strategy, accusing the West of supporting neighboring Rwanda, which is alleged to back the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group. The group’s advances are threatening the strategic city of Goma in the eastern part of the country. Rwanda has denied these allegations, but Congo, along with Western governments and a U.N. expert group, claims that the rebel group benefits from Rwandan support.

In response to recent attacks on U.N. staff and vehicles, security was heightened. Nonetheless, groups of protesters gathered outside the U.S. and French embassies, as well as the MONUSCO offices. Some attempted to damage surveillance cameras at the U.S. embassy, while others shouted slogans like "Leave our country, we don’t want your hypocrisy."

"The Westerners are behind the looting of our country; Rwanda doesn’t act alone, so they must leave," said Pepin Mbindu, a protester.

Videos shared on social media showed onlookers cheering as one demonstrator removed the European Union flag from the entrance of a prominent hotel in central Kinshasa. Fabrice Malumba, a motorcycle driver participating in the demonstration, remarked, "The international community remains silent while Congolese are being killed; they finance Rwanda."

As protests intensified, police dispersed the crowds with tear gas.

Congo’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, met with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions on Sunday. He assured that security measures would be enacted to protect their locations.

"We are ensuring the security of the partner embassies of the Democratic Republic of Congo in accordance with the Vienna Convention," stated General Blaise Mbula Kilimba Limba, the police chief in Kinshasa.

Decades of conflict in eastern Congo, driven by rival armed groups vying for land and resources, have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands and displaced over 7 million people. The country is known as the world’s top supplier of cobalt and Africa’s leading producer.