It was not clear why the soldiers opened fire. “This serious incident has caused loss of life and serious injuries,” said Bindou Keita, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Congo. Keita and the Congolese government said an investigation had been launched and the suspected perpetrators had been arrested. “In the face of this unspeakable and irresponsible behavior, the perpetrators of the shooting have been identified and arrested pending the results of the investigation that has already begun in collaboration with the Congolese authorities,” Keita said. He added that contact had been made with the soldiers’ country of origin so that legal procedures could be urgently initiated. He did not name the country. The Congolese government said in a statement that a provisional investigation showed that two Congolese were killed and 15 others were injured. “The government, together with MONUSCO, has launched an investigation to find out the reasons for this crime and to bring about severe punishments,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in the statement. He said the peacekeepers involved in the incident would no longer be part of the MONUSCO force pending the outcome of a plan to withdraw the entire force from the Democratic Republic of Congo. MONUSCO took over from a previous UN operation in 2010. MONUSCO had more than 12,000 troops and 1,600 police deployed as of November 2021 and has been gradually withdrawing for years. Since the protests began last Monday, at least 20 people, including three peacekeepers, have been killed. The protests were sparked by allegations that the mission had failed to protect civilians from militia violence that has raged for years in the region.
