Hundreds of protesters attacked several foreign embassies and a United Nations building in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday as a rebel offensive backed by neighboring Rwanda in the country’s east threatened to spiral into a regional crisis.
Anger at Congo’s foreign allies has been rising in the country this week over what is seen as their inability to stop an assault on the key eastern city of Goma on Monday by the March 23 Movement, or M23, a Congolese militia that the United Nations and United States say is supported and directed by Rwanda.
On Tuesday, protesters burned tires and threw stones in front of the U.S. Embassy’s main compound, according to local news reports, and breached the site of a new embassy building that is under construction, according to an American official in Kinshasa who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve staff safety. The site was later secured and no one was injured, the official said.
Protesters attacked the French Embassy in the city, causing a fire, according to Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, who denounced the violence as “unacceptable,” although he said the blaze had been brought under control.
Videos distributed by the Reuters news agency showed protesters breaking into the French Embassy and leaving the building with looted furniture. “Macron kills in Congo,” read a message left on an embassy wall, referring to President Emmanuel Macron of France. “You have long betrayed us.”
Protesters also looted and set fire to the Ugandan Embassy, according to video verified by The New York Times. And they attacked the Belgian Embassy and the office of the U.N. humanitarian agency in Congo, according to a United Nations official, who referred to the situation as “total chaos.”
A small fire was also set in front of the Rwandan Embassy.
The M23 rebels have been fighting against Congolese armed forces and allied armed groups for territorial control in the mineral-rich eastern regions of Congo. Their latest offensive has displaced over 500,000 people since the beginning of the year, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency.
As the angry protests erupted in Kinshasa, gunshots rang out across Goma 1,000 miles to the east, an area that was once a refuge for people fleeing M23’s advance and violence from other armed groups. Many are now fleeing again amid the M23 rebels’ fight to completely capture the city.
Rwanda denies supporting M23. Instead, it has accused Congo of failing to maintain peace in its eastern regions and threatening Rwanda’s own security by amassing troops near their border.
In a call on Monday with Congo’s president, Félix Tshisekedi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the M23 assault on Goma and affirmed the United States’ respect for Congo’s sovereignty, according to Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokeswoman.
The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to host an emergency meeting about the conflict on Tuesday. After an earlier emergency meeting on Sunday about the conflict, the council’s members did not mention Rwanda by name in their statement condemning the insurgency.
