In late July 2022, anti-MONUSCO protests manifested in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. The protests were against

MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO (an acronym based on its French name ), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A planned withdraw ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

force in the country, which has been accused by Congolese politicians and civilians of failing to take action to end the decades-old conflict within the country. The protestors demanded that MONUSCO leave the country.

Protests

On 25 July 2022, protests began in the Congolese city of

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

against

, which the protestors accused of failing to take action to end the decades-old conflict within the country, and more protests later manifested the following day in Beni and

Butembo Butembo is a city in North Kivu, in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on the Rwenzori graben and west of Virunga National Park. The city is an important commercial centre with large markets, a cathedral, multiple large hospitals, a ...

. According to MONUSCO, protestors stole weapons from the police, and vandalized and looted UN facilities, forcing UN personnel to evacuate the MONUSCO headquarters in Goma via a helicopter airlift. The newspaper ''The North Africa Post'' alleged that

March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (), is a Congolese Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group. Based in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it operates ...

rebels had used the unrest as a cover, and been responsible for the attack on a contingent of Moroccan MONUSCO peacekeepers at Nyamilima during the protests.

Deaths

According to Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, five people were killed and a further 50 more were injured in Goma. Colonel Paul Ngoma, the police chief of Butembo, stated that seven people were killed in the city, and MONUSCO stated that one peacekeeper and two BSF police officers were also killed in Butembo. On 27 July, four protestors were electrocuted by an electrical cable which was downed by UN soldiers. On 31 July, two people were killed and fifteen were injured in Beni when UN soldiers opened fire at a Congolese border post, forcing their way into the country from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. A UN representative stated that the soldiers in question were arrested pending an investigation into the incident. By 1 August, two Moroccan peacekeepers, namely Chief Corporal Azzouz Zhenadi and Major Mohammed Rami, and two Indian policemen, Shishupal Singh and Sanwala Ram Vishnoi, had been killed during the protests. According to an official report by the DR Congo government, 36 people had been killed and 170 wounded during the protests by August.

Reactions

* : Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for the United Nations, stated: "He /nowiki>António Guterres">António_Guterres.html" ;"title="/nowiki>António Guterres">/nowiki>António Guterres/nowiki> underscores that any attack directed against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and calls upon the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents and swiftly bring those responsible to justice." * : ** Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi mainly condemned the shooting of protesters by MONUSCO members. ** The party

Forces for Renewal The Forces for Renewal (), generally still known by its original name RCD-Kisangani-Movement for Liberation (RCD/K-ML), is a political party in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The party originated as a breakaway faction of the rebel Rally for C ...

condemned the attacks and looting during the protests, and urged the Congolese people to not regard MONUSCO as enemies.

Aftermath

In early August, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo expelled UN spokesman Mathias Gillmann from the country, stating that he made "indelicate and inappropriate" statements which led to the high tensions between MONUSCO and the country's citizens. Congolese foreign affairs minister Christophe Lutundula stated that the Congolese government intended to speed up the process of MONUSCO's withdrawal from the country, which was originally planned for 2024.

Protests

Deaths

Reactions

Aftermath

References

Further reading