Pockets of violence mar Congo election campaign, threaten vote

Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party supporters gather as they wait for the arrival of Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi for a campaign rally at the Afia stadium in Goma, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Two candidates running for parliament in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Dec. 20 general election were killed in separate incidents on Friday, as a rights group warned in a report on Saturday that electoral violence risks undermining the vote.

A candidate for the ruling coalition in the South Kivu province in the eastern Congo region was killed by unknown gunmen while he was returning from a campaign event on Friday evening, a regional government official told Reuters.