(20 Dec 2021) Residents of eastern Congo's largest city launched violent protests over fears that police from neighboring Rwanda had entered the country, leaving at least two people dead, authorities said Monday.
Mayor Francois Kabeya Makossa confirmed that one police officer and a protester had been killed in the unrest.
Congo's relations with Rwanda have been fraught over the past 30 years, with Rwanda accusing Congo of giving shelter to ethnic Hutus after they carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The latest anti-Rwandan sentiment in eastern Congo was sparked by a memorandum of bilateral cooperation signed a week ago, an agreement authorities say is aimed at combating cross-border crime.
Many residents of Goma have viewed the agreement with suspicion, fearing it could lead to Rwanda annexing portions of eastern Congo.
"We do not want Rwandans in our country," protester Tommy Mashauri said.
The commissioner general of the Congolese national police, told reporters over the weekend there are no Rwandan police officers inside Congo, and authorities maintained Monday there were no such plans in motion.
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