Congo to reassess UN force after 36 killed in protests
By JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government is reassessing the presence of United Nations peacekeepers after protests against the force in the country’s east have killed at least 36 people. President Félix Tshisekedi chaired a crisis meeting as demonstrations escalated after U.N. peacekeepers opened fire on civilians, killing three, in Kasindi, an eastern border post with Uganda. Congo’s government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a statement Tuesday that in addition to the deaths in Kasindi others have died in the eastern towns of Goma, Butembo, Uvira and Kanyabayonga. He said the government had consulted civic groups in the affected areas and the populations made a clear request to have the U.N. peacekeepers leave Congo.