Although it appears to be a quiet Sunday, the situation is tense. Here in Kananga, an opposition stronghold, we have not seen the level of activity as displayed in Kinshasa.
The international community needs to intervene and mediate before more blood is shed.
Police were going door to door on Saturday, taking youths out of houses in an opposition neighborhood and pushing them into unmarked vehicles, a day after the incumbent was declared the winner in a disputed presidential election here.
Police officers, with automatic weapons drawn, were also seen beating one of the young men during the roundup that took place in the impoverished 20-Mai neighborhood here. The police officers, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, ran through the neighborhood's alleyways chasing down youths; the back of their vehicle appeared crowded with young men afterward.
The purpose of the roundup was not immediately clear. But it was testimony to the tension that persists here after the official announcement on Friday that the president, Joseph Kabila, had won re-election in this mineral-rich nation. Human Rights Watch was also receiving reports of "other abductions" in the capital, Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher for the group, said Saturday.
The international community needs to intervene and mediate before more blood is shed.
Police were going door to door on Saturday, taking youths out of houses in an opposition neighborhood and pushing them into unmarked vehicles, a day after the incumbent was declared the winner in a disputed presidential election here.
Police officers, with automatic weapons drawn, were also seen beating one of the young men during the roundup that took place in the impoverished 20-Mai neighborhood here. The police officers, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, ran through the neighborhood's alleyways chasing down youths; the back of their vehicle appeared crowded with young men afterward.
The purpose of the roundup was not immediately clear. But it was testimony to the tension that persists here after the official announcement on Friday that the president, Joseph Kabila, had won re-election in this mineral-rich nation. Human Rights Watch was also receiving reports of "other abductions" in the capital, Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher for the group, said Saturday.
Comments