DR Congo police shoot dead activist during rally

An activist was shot and killed by police on Thursday during a rally in a strife-torn region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a campaign group has said. Police in the city of Beni, in a region plagued by attacks from bandits and militias, said that two officers had been arrested over the incident.

Roughly 20 people had gathered in a stadium in Beni for a protest organised by grassroots group Lucha against killings and general insecurity in the area. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a mainly Muslim rebel group, is accused of killing more than 1,000 civilians in the Beni region since October 2014.

Residents have protested regularly against the failure of officials and UN forces to protect them. Roughly a dozen people were detained at Thursday’s rally, according to media correspondent who also saw the activist’s body at a local hospital.

Two other protesters were injured during the crackdown and taken to hospital, Lucha activist Esaie Liko said. “We condemn this brutal behaviour by the police and the authorities. We thought we were moving towards the construction of the rule of law but it is the opposite,” Liko said.

Lucha had called for a demonstration to demand “an end to the killings, harassment of the population” and the resignation of local security officials. It named the dead activist as Marcus-Freddy Kambale, 22. “Two policemen presumed to be responsible for this act were arrested,” Beni police spokesman Nasson Murara said