Congo’s new prime minister calls for calm as Kabila’s mandate runs out
Kinshasa — The Democratic Republic of Congo’s newly named premier Samy Badibanga on Tuesday urged his compatriots to stay "calm" and security forces "to show discipline and restraint" as violence erupted after his controversial appointment. "I want to issue an appeal for calm," he said at a media conference where he also called for restraint by security forces as violence broke out due to President Joseph Kabila’s decision to name a new government instead of stepping down as his mandate ended. Maman Sidikou, the UN chief’s special representative, voicing his "grave concern’ on Tuesday about the wave of ongoing "arrests, some of which are arbitrary, and detentions in the last three days across the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Gunfire was heard in the country’s two largest cities as a leader of the opposition called on citizens to reject President Joseph Kabila whose mandate expired on Tuesday with no sign that he was ready to leave.
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