UN Warns 'large-scale Crisis' Possible In DR Congo

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UN warns 'large-scale crisis' possible in DR Congo

KINSHASA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -22nd Sep,2016) : The UN rights chief on Thursday said DR Congo had used "excessive force" during deadly clashes with demonstrators in the capital and called on Kinshasa to reach out to the opposition to avert a "large-scale crisis" "The authorities need to pull back from their extremely confrontational position and build bridges with the opposition," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement issued in Geneva in the wake of confrontations between security forces and opposition protestors in Kinshasa on Monday and Tuesday.

Zeid said the violence, marked by many civilian deaths and attacks on opposition headquarters, "provide a stark warning that a large-scale crisis could be just around the corner.

" "The writing is on the wall," he said.

On Wednesday, DR Congo police said 32 people had been killed during the violence, while the opposition reported "more than 100 dead", some of them burned alive. Zeid's office put the toll at at least 50, with four police officers among the dead.

Opposition groups had organised demonstrations on Monday to demand the resignation of President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001 and, under the constitution, should step down on December 20.