UPDATE - DR Congo: At least 17 killed in demonstrations

UPDATES WITH HEADQUARTERS OF OPPOSITION SET ABLAZE

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - An opposition demonstration in the capital calling for the nation’s president to stand down when his term of office ends in December flared into deadly violence Monday, when at least 17 and as many as 50 people were killed, including three police officers, according to conflicting reports by authorities and the opposition.

Tuesday morning the premises of the opposition headquarters was also set ablaze, an assault the opposition blamed on government and security forces.

Jean-Marc Kambund-a-Kambund, secretary general of the main opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), told Anadolu Agency that two people had died in the fire at party headquarters.

Earlier, thousands of demonstrators, most of them young men, burned tires on the streets and sidewalks, according to a criminal investigations officer in Kinshasa.

"Groups of young men assembled on Lumumba Street and started burning tires. When police approached them, they started to pelt them with stones. Police used teargas and they fled," said Officer Louis Mbura.

According to Mbura, the main rally was supposed to take place on Triumphal Street but the police dispersed the crowd. He added that an unidentified number of people were also arrested in the city.

But the opposition said at least 50 people were killed during the protest.

"The rally took many lives, over 50 dead counted at this stage, victims mowed down by live ammunition from the police and the Republican Guard. Many were arrested and thousands injured,” according to a statement released late Monday by the opposition and organizers of the protest.

The statement also urged protesters to continue protests on Tuesday.

Interior Minister Evariste Boshab said that the police had to intervene to prevent protesters from ransacking public and private buildings.

Minor demonstrations have also reportedly taken place in the municipalities of Ndjili, Lemba, Limete, and Bandal.

In downtown Kinshasa, public and private companies and schools closed down as the riots kicked off.

The electoral commission recently petitioned the Constitutional Court for permission to postpone presidential elections amid ongoing voter registration.

The UN condemned the protest in a statement: “The secretary-general expresses his deep concern about the violent clashes between protestors and security forces in Kinshasa, and several other locations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He condemns the violence that has already led to the death of at least 17 people, including three police officers in the capital.

“The secretary-general urges all concerned political leaders and their supporters to refrain from any further violence that could exacerbate the situation. He calls on the Congolese authorities to ensure that the national security forces exercise maximum restraint in their response to protests. He also calls on all political leaders to address their differences peacefully and through dialogue, in line with Security Council resolution 2277 (2016),” the statement said.