Police crack down on protest against east DR Congo force

A protest against an east African force deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was violently dispersed by police in Goma on Wednesday, AFP correspondents saw.

About 100 demonstrators gathered near a roundabout to march against the East African Community (EAC) force, which they said was ineffective.

Several thousand soldiers from Kenya and Burundi have recently been deployed to reinforce the Congolese army and the United Nations to fight armed groups in the east of the DRC.

South Sudan's contingent of 750 soldiers is expected to arrive soon.

"The population is tired of seeing this useless EAC force turn into an observer mission that watches how they massacre us," said Espoir Mwinuka, an activist with the Lucha, a group of young activists, who co-organised the march.

"On the ground, they are doing nothing but serving as a shield for the enemy, so this force has no reason to be here," said Josue Wallay, another Lucha activist.

On arrival in Goma city centre, the march was stopped by police who fired tear gas.

Journalists were threatened by police and an officer threw a tear gas grenade at the group of reporters, hitting an AFP correspondent in the head.

A journalist was injured while fleeing.

Two others were arrested along with six protesters and released after three hours in custody.

The mainly Tutsi M23 rebels took up arms again in late 2021, prompting the deployment of the the regional force.

Since the end of October and despite declarations of a ceasefire and troop withdrawals, M23 has continued to clash with the Congolese army and other armed groups.