Police in the city of Butembo in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have said a “stray bullet” killed a demonstrator in a protest against perceived failure by the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in the region to stem massacres of civilians by armed groups.
“Stones were thrown when police moved in to remove a barricade. Unfortunately, a demonstrator was hit by a stray bullet and died,” Jean-Paul Ngoma, local police chief, said on Friday.
He did not say who fired the round.
Leon Tsongo, member of a campaign group called Parlement Debout (“Parliament, Rise”), said “the policeman who shot our comrade” was just six metres (20 feet) away.