DR Congo: Protesters Targeting Western Embassies Tear Gassed

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Facts

  • Protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) intensified in the capital Kinshasa on Monday as riot police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators burning tires and US and Belgian flags near Western embassies amid the escalating conflict in the country's eastern regions.1
  • Protesters took to the streets outside the US and French embassies after attacking staff and vehicles of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) on Saturday. Some threw stones and tried to destroy the surveillance cameras in one of the US embassy offices.2
  • The protesters blame the West for supporting Rwanda, who they say is backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebels threatening Goma. While Rwanda denies the accusations, Kinshasa, Western governments as well as a UN group recently found that the M23 is benefiting from Kigali's support.3
  • The Congolese government condemned the violence and tightened security measures around embassies and UN buildings. Protests broke out last week in Kinshasa and the eastern city of Lubumbashi, with dozens of youths reportedly protesting outside the French and British embassies.4
  • The protests come as fighting between the Congolese army and M23 rebels intensified in the mineral-rich eastern Congo in recent days, forcing tens of thousands to flee the latest clashes. M23 fighters are reportedly blocking the two key roads into Goma.5
  • In eastern Congo, dozens of rival armed groups are fighting over land and the country's resources. In the decades-long conflict, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 7M have been displaced.6

Sources: 1BBC News (a), 2Voice of America, 3reuters.com, 4Barrons, 5BBC News (b) and 6The Straits Times.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by POLITICO. Public anger in Kinshasa is directed at the West and its alleged support for Rwanda, yet it's the US that recently stepped up diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali, calling on both sides to abandon their reliance on rebel groups. Washington is aware that a possible war would not only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis but also jeopardize its efforts to detach the DRC from China to gain greater access to its resources. Washington is ready to mediate and it is up to both countries to seize the opportunity to end the suffering.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The crisis in Congo did not develop in a vacuum but is the result of a long legacy of colonial robbery, violence, and exploitation that continues to this day, albeit by different means. Congo and Rwanda are being played off against each other by the West to secure control of the country's vast natural resources. The destabilization caused by Kigali-backed rebel groups such as the M23 is the perfect means to achieve this goal. The people of Congo know very well that it is the greed of powerful Western corporations that is ultimately responsible for their plight.

Predictions