Protesters waved the flags of opposition parties and banners reading "Respect for the constitution is not negotiable" and "Mr Kabila's mandate ends on December 19, 2016".
At least three people were injured in Congo's capital on Tuesday when a protest against perceived attempts by President Joseph Kabila to extend his mandate turned violent, the government said.
Unidentified
men with wooden batons attacked protesters shortly after opposition
leaders began addressing an open-air meeting at a soccer field in Kinshasa at about 1430 local time, a Reuters reporter said.
The
meeting of more than 1,000 people quickly descended into chaos as some
protesters began striking the attackers with chairs while dozens of
others, some with injuries and blood-stained clothes, ran to avoid being
hit. Residents said police back-up arrived later and restored calm.
Government spokesman Lambert Mende
said the attack was likely perpetrated by supporters of Kabila angered
by the "injurious rhetoric" of the opposition leaders on stage against
the president. He condemned both the attack and the insults.
Opposition leader Emery Okundji from the Reformist Forces for Union and Solidarity (FONUS), said he saw the corpses of two attackers, whom he said were soldiers in civilian dress.
Other
witnesses said they saw at least one apparently lifeless body, although
they could not say for sure whether the person was dead.
"I denounce this with force because what we did was legal and we informed the authorities in accordance with the law," said Vital Kamerhe, president of the opposition Union for the Congolese Nation party.
The
crowd in the N'djili commune included representatives of several major
opposition parties gathering to protest what they say is an attempt by
Kabila to cling to power beyond the end of his second and final elected
term next December.
The opposition says the
election commission has drawn up a packed calendar of more than a dozen
local, provincial and national votes over the next 14 months to delay
the presidential election. They say the government is underfunding these
elections as a way to force them to be delayed.
The
constitutional court ordered the election commission to revisit the
calendar last week, saying the budgetary and political constraints have
made it untenable.
The 44-year-old president took power in 2001 when his father was assassinated and won disputed elections in 2006 and 2011.
The
protest, authorised by Kinshasa governor Andre Kimbuta, coincides with
the reopening of parliament and is the first major anti-government rally
since at least 40 people were killed in protests in Kinshasa and other
cities in January.
Protesters waved the flags of opposition parties and banners reading "Respect for the constitution is not negotiable" and "Mr Kabila's mandate ends on December 19, 2016".
So
far, Kabila has refused to comment publicly on his political future,
though a spokesman has said that he intends to respect the constitution.
The
election in Congo is being closely watched as Kabila is one of several
long-standing African leaders approaching the end of their term over the
next two years amid calls for constitutional change.
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