DR of Congo: UN Mission responds to student demonstration in Kisangani

The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) today appealed for calm in Kisangani, where UN troops came under attack after responding when soldiers from the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma) assaulted a university professor.

RCD-Goma forces also attacked the professor’s wife and, when a university student intervened, shot him in the leg, MONUC said.

That attack set the stage for several other incidents in front of the university, beginning in the early morning when a MONUC bus bound for Simi Simi airport was stopped and set ablaze by students. A UN official was wounded in that incident.

About an hour later, another truck carrying MONUC peacekeepers was stopped at the same location by students who threw stones and smashed its windows.

The students also attempted to burn a second truck which was forced to stop and unload its passenger, according to MONUC. A Mission vehicle carrying Uruguayan soldiers soon arrived at the location, and they fired shots in the air, dispersing the students and freeing the truck and staff members.

Appealing for calm and calling on all concerned to “display a sense of responsibility,” the Mission warned that “any attempt at provocation, manipulation of facts or disinformation would only harm the ongoing peace process.”