Several wounded as DR Congo police break up banned election protest

Republican guard form a security cordon, as supporters of Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi cheer for him, after he cast his vote at a polling station, during the presidential election, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo December 20, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

KINSHASA (Reuters) -Several people were wounded in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on Wednesday as riot police forcibly dispersed a banned protest by the opposition, who are calling for a re-run of last week's chaotic national elections.

The disputed vote threatens to further destabilise poverty-stricken Congo, which is already grappling with a security crisis in the east that has hampered development in the world's top producer of cobalt and other industrial minerals and metals.