BUJUMBURA, Burundi: At least 36 Burundian refugees have been killed in clashes with Congolese security forces who allegedly fired indiscriminately at protesters, the UN envoy to Congo said Saturday.
Maman Sidikou said he was “deeply shocked” at the violence. Another 117 people were wounded and one Congolese officer was killed, he said in a statement. Thirty-nine gravely wounded Burundian refugees were evacuated by helicopter to the city of Bukavu, the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo said.
Friday’s clashes erupted in Kamanyola in Congo’s South Kivu province when Burundian refugees and asylum-seekers protested the expulsion of four of their countrymen from Congo, Sidikou said, citing “credible reports” received by the peacekeeping mission. The death of the Congolese army officer led to “the escalation of violence.”
The UN envoy called for a swift investigation and urged Congo’s security forces to use force as a last resort.
Congo’s government says it is opening an investigation to establish the facts and true identity of the “supposed refugees,” spokesman Lambert Mende said.
“We do not yet understand how the people who are being called refugees were also shooting at Congolese soldiers,” Mende said. “No person who is a beneficiary of this (refugee) status is supposed to have an assault rifle.”
Roughly 44,000 refugees from Burundi are sheltering in Congo. Many fled political violence at home in 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza successfully pursued a disputed third term amid deadly protests.
Of the people killed in Friday’s clashes, 15 were women, the commander of the Pakistani battalion of the UN peacekeeping mission, Waquara Yunusi, told The Associated Press.
The Congolese government, the UN refugee agency and the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo “have deployed teams on site to shed light on everything that happened,” said the coordinator of the UN Communications Group in Congo, Florence Marchal.
Burundi’s foreign minister, Alain Aime Nyamitwe, on Twitter asked Congo and UN officials for an explanation of the shootings.
Residents said the killings occurred after some Burundian refugees went to the bureau of intelligence in Kamanyola to inquire about four detained refugees. Congolese soldiers responded with gunfire when some refugees hurled stones, said refugee Aline Nduwarugira.
It was not immediately clear why the four refugees had been detained.
Another witnesses, Alfred Rukungo, said Congolese soldiers continued shooting into the crowd even after some refugees were wounded.
36 Burundi refugees killed in clashes with Congo forces: UN
36 Burundi refugees killed in clashes with Congo forces: UN
Floods ravage Minas Gerais, killing 36 as rescuers race to find dozens missing
- Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes
- 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil: Dozens are still missing in southeastern Brazil on Wednesday after floods killed at least 36 people in the state of Minas Gerais, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams worked through the night, as heavy rain is expected in the region in the next few days.
All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.
Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes as of Wednesday morning.
The streets of Juiz de Fora, a city of 560,000 residents, were covered in mud as authorities feared more landslides. Life in neighboring Uba, with its 107,000 residents, came to a stop. Classes were suspended in both cities, their mayors said.
Juiz de Fora’s City Hall said in a statement that around 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters and that the city experienced double the rain expected for February. Mayor Margarida Salomão said at least 20 landslides had been reported since the torrential rain began Monday evening.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels that security forces have been deployed on rescue missions and are providing immediate assistance to the population affected by the rain. He also said health care teams had been sent to the region, which lies close to hills, valleys and slopes.
