Flights suspended after violent protests in DR Congo, AU urges M23 to lay down arms

Uganda Airlines announced the suspension of its flights to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where several embassies were damaged, looted, and even set on fire amid mass demonstrations. The decision was made on Tuesday after violent protests targeting foreign embassies against the dire situation in Goma, the capital of the DRC’s eastern province of North Kivu, and the “inaction” of the international community, reports Xinhua news agency. Protesters were seen on the city’s main arteries, disrupting traffic, blocking commercial activities, burning tyres, and chanting slogans in front of the embassies of the United States and other Western countries and the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Part of the exterior of the French embassy was set on fire by protesters, while the nearby Ugandan embassy was also set on fire and looted. Sounds of detonation were heard in the neighbourhoods where the Rwandan embassy and the US consular service are located.<br/>