Kinshasa — Congo’s normally teeming capital Kinshasa came to a standstill Monday as people stayed home in fear of violence after the government banned a planned protest against President Joseph Kabila. Shops were shuttered and streets empty in the city of 10 million people at midday, with security forces posted at key intersections. "With police everywhere I decided to stay home," street vendor Brel Kabeya said. Police on Sunday slapped a ban on political protests and warned that gatherings of 10 or more "will be broken up" after the main opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), called for countrywide anti-Kabila rallies on Monday. There was no sign of a protest in Kinshasa, however, or in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo’s second city, where police and troops were out in force and many shops shuttered. In the eastern city of Goma, police clashed with protesters trying to build barricades and burn tyres. Tension has been mounting across the vast ...
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