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Congolese Security Forces Kill at Least 18 Burundian Refugees

by VOA News

   Congolese security troops killed at least 18 Burundian refugees during
   confrontations Friday over plans to return some of the refugees to
   their home country, officials and local activists said.

   Soldiers and police opened fire as the refugees tried to free some of
   their compatriots in Kamanyola, a town in the eastern Democratic
   Republic of Congo near the Burundi border.

   The troops attempted to disperse the refugees by "firing in the air but
   were overwhelmed," when the group began throwing stones, according to
   interior ministry official Josue Boji.

   Eyewitness Alfred Rukungo said the soldiers continued shooting into the
   crowd even after some refugees were wounded.

   Congo-based U.N. communications official Florence Marchal confirmed the
   deaths and said the Congolese government, the U.N. refugee agency and
   the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo "have deployed teams on site to
   shed light on everything that happened."

   Marchal said at least 50 others were wounded and the death toll is
   likely to rise.

   Burundi Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe asked Congo and the U.N.
   on Twitter for an explanation of the shootings.

   More than 400,000 refugees from Burundi have fled to neighboring Congo
   since 2015, to escape an outbreak of political violence that was
   sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's successful but disputed bid to
   win a third term in office.