1st Ld-Writethru: At least 5 killed in anti-Kabila demonstration in DR Congo

KINSHASA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and several others wounded on Sunday in Kinshasa during an anti-Kabila demonstration convened by the Catholic Church across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), according to the UN mission in the west African country.

At least 69 people were arrested across the country, according to the UN Stabilization Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO).

In a church in Kinshasa, an 18-year-old girl who was one of the faithful of the Catholic Church was shot dead during this demonstration.

The Red Cross sources interviewed by Xinhua in Kinshasa reported eight seriously wounded people, six of whom were shot.

The DR Congo is going through an unprecedented political crisis since the expiry of the term of its current president Joseph Kabila.

This is the second demonstration in less than two months convened by the leaders of the Catholic Church of the DR Congo to demand the application of the political agreement signed last year under the auspices of the Bishops.

At least six people were killed in the demonstration in late December, which was also convened by members of the same Catholic church.

The National Independent Electoral Commission issued at the beginning of the year an electoral calendar that sets the presidential elections in December 2018. But this schedule has already been rejected by opponents of the Kabila regime who also demand a short transition without its presence at the head of the country. Enditem