5 killed in east Congo anti-UN protest

At least five people were killed and around 50 injured in anti-United Nations protests in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma on Tuesday, a government spokesman said.

Earlier, a witness saw UN peacekeepers shoot two demonstrators dead, reports Reuters.

The violence took place on the second day of protests against the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO for failing to protect civilians in a region marred by decades of militia violence.

Hundreds of demonstrators attacked and looted a MONUSCO warehouse in Goma on Monday, demanding that the mission leave the country.

A Reuters witness said peacekeepers fired live bullets at a largely peaceful crowd on Tuesday, killing two and wounding at least two others.

Army and police officers deployed to the scene did not fire, he added.

A MONUSCO spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said further information would be provided later in the day on the human and logistical toll of the protests.

Tensions are high in east Congo, where resurgent clashes between local troops and the M23 rebel group have displaced thousands. Attacks by militants linked to Islamic State have also continued despite a year-long state of emergency and joint operations against them by the Congolese and Ugandan armies.