Clashes erupt in Kinshasa over election talks

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have fired tear gas to disperse a rally in capital Kinshasa to protest about talks between opposition parties and the government on a delayed presidential election.
Young protesters, opposed to the dialogue, threw rocks and set fire to tyres on Thursday in front of the headquarters of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) and Labour Alliance for Development (ATD) parties, whose presidents are participating in the negotiations with President Joseph Kabila.
Kabila’s opponents accuse him of stalling the vote to cling on to power, a charge he denies.
Some protesters chanted on Thursday: “We’re going to burn the headquarters of Kamerhe. Kamerhe is a traitor,” in reference to UNC president Vital Kamerhe, who will lead the opposition delegation at the talks.
They also chanted down former Togo premier Edem Kodjo, who has been named by the African Union as the talks’ “facilitator”.