Opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed as many as 50 people died in clashes between police and protesters calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down, as violence continued for a second day in outlying districts of the capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday. The government put the death toll at 17, including three policemen.
A group of opposition parties known as the Rassemblement urged their supporters to intensify protests, while United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for restraint. The head of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, Smail Chergui, said on his Twitter account he was “gravely concerned” about the situation.
