The head of the United Nations human rights agency on Friday said that Congolese security forces had killed at least 40 people and arrested 460 others following protests against President Joseph Kabila this week.
The protests erupted following Kabila’s failure to give up power after the end of his term.
The president’s 15-year rule was due to end on Monday midnight, but that was extended to 2018.
“Such high casualty figures suggest a serious disregard … of the need to exercise restraint in policing demonstrations,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement.
“Not only are soldiers participating in law enforcement operations, but all the forces involved are heavily armed and using live ammunition,” Zeid said, also noting that 107 more people had been “injured or ill-treated”.
The country’s constitution bars Kabila from running for the presidency for a third time.
