"Two men shot dead outside St Alphonse church in Kinshasa’s Matete commune as security forces disperse peaceful protesters calling for Pres Kabila to step down. Heavy security force deployment and roadblocks across capital; SMS, internet access shut down," Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Congolese forces shoot dead 8 anti-government protesters in Kinshasa: @hrwhttps://t.co/RirmuG8mdtpic.twitter.com/DLYMrabhmr
— Press TV (@PressTV) 31 декабря 2017 г.
Meanwhile, media put the number of people, killed in the protests, at eight.
Kabila has been president of the DR Congo after taking office following the assassination of his father President Laurent-Desire Kabila, in 2001. In 2006, the United Nations brokered democratic election in the country, as a result of which Kabila was elected as president for a five-year term.
Opposition claims that the authorities had intentionally delayed the presidential election for Kabila to remain in power.