27 08 13 BBC – DR Congo unrest: UN investigates Goma protest deaths

Eyewitnesses
told the AFP news agency the two died on Saturday when a crowd tried to storm a
UN base and said troops from Uruguay had opened fire.

Uruguay
has denied the allegations and blamed the Congolese
police.

A
new UN intervention brigade is deploying to the area to tackle
rebels.

UN
troops last week shelled rebel positions just outside
Goma.

There
has been no official statement on how many people have died in the
fighting.

One
local doctor has told the AP news agency he had seen 82 dead bodies, including
those of 23 government soldiers on Sunday.

"I'm
overwhelmed by what I've seen: bodies blown apart, arms and feet here and
there," said Isaac Warwanamiza, speaking from a hospital north of
Goma.

Many
Congolese accuse the 18,000-strong UN mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo of not doing enough to end two decades of conflict in the east of the
country.

Hundreds
of people reportedly joined Saturday's protests, after rockets killed several
civilians in the city, and called for the UN to attack the M23 rebel
group.

Augustin
Matendo, one of the protesters, told AFP that Uruguayan troops opened
fire.

"Two
people were killed instantly and four others were injured and rushed to
hospital," he told AFP.

Uruguay
President Jose Mujica denied the claims.

The
UN intervention brigade has the strongest mandate ever given to such a
peacekeeping force and is tasked with eradicating the rebel groups which have
plagued eastern DR Congo since 1994.

On
Sunday, the UK pulled its Foreign Office staff out of the city due to security
concerns, while the US condemned the rebel attacks.

In
November, the M23 rebels briefly captured Goma, which borders Rwanda,
withdrawing in exchange for a series of demands, including negotiations with the
government.

Rwanda
has repeatedly denied UN allegations that it has been backing the M23
rebels.

Like
Rwanda's leadership, M23 fighters mostly come from the Tutsi
community.

They
deserted from the Congolese army in April 2012, forcing an estimated 800,000
people from their homes in the ensuing unrest in the mineral-rich
region.

Peace
talks taking place in Uganda this year to resolve their grievances have
stalled.