Police said they had arrested 275 people across Democratic Republic of Congo as two days of protests against President Joseph Kabila appeared to subside on Wednesday. Sporadic gunfire rang out over the capital and witnesses reported clashes in the southeastern mining hub of Lubumbashi, but nothing on the scale of the violence when youths took to the streets on Tuesday accusing Kabila of trying to cling to power.
Police said 21 civilians and one officer had been killed in the protests that erupted as Kabila's mandate expired without any elections in place to pick a successor. Rights groups earlier gave higher death tolls. Kabila and his supporters have denied any plan to stay in power and said elections were delayed by logistical problems.
But African and Western powers fear the political crisis could spiral into broader conflict, risking a repeat of the 1996-2003 wars in this vast, chaotic country that killed millions and drew in the armies of half a dozen neighbouring states.
Police spokesman Colonel Pierre Mwanamputu said most of the dead civilians had been hit by stray bullets or shot while looting over Tuesday and Wednesday. "The heavy security presence will remain in place until the end of the year," he added. On Wednesday security forces repressed protests in Lubumbashi that left 10 dead and 47 wounded, King Kasongo, a lawyer and activist for the NGO Humanism and Human Rights (HDH), said.
Crowds also wounded a policeman and attacked government offices, health centres and gas stations, he told Reuters. Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier said that at least 26 people were killed across Congo, including one in Lubumbashi, though it had yet to provide a final tally.
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