KINSHASA —
Security forces in Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 34 people during protests this week against President Joseph Kabila's failure to step down at the end of his mandate, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
Ida Sawyer, HRW's Central Africa director, said on Twitter that all the deaths occurred during the initial protests on Tuesday, raising the toll from an earlier count of 26.
She added that the group was also verifying additional reports of deaths. The Congolese government says 22 people died in the clashes, one of them a police officer.