Congo's security forces accused of abuses in crime crackdown

Since early October, Congo's presidential protection force has launched an operation against criminal gangs of machete-weilding teens known locally as 'bebe noir' or black babies.

The groups have been spreading terror in the country’s major cities for several years, attacking and robbing businesses and homes.

''It’s a good initiative because Congolese people are always afraid to go out. I hope it lasts," said a resident of Pointe-Noire in Congo's south.

"We shopkeepers now have to close earlier than planned, otherwise they take our money or kill us with machetes," said a vendor.

While many support the crackdown, some deplore the methods used after shocking images of summary executions went viral on social media.

Human rights activists have denounced what they call a dangerous drift that tramples on the Congolese constitution and the country’s international commitments.

"It is unacceptable that we can see online what is happening to Congolese citizens whose lives are taken in a click. Today we are witnessing summary executions while we have a legal framework in our country. If these offenders are identified, they must be handed over to the proper authorities so justice can be served," argued Anael Yeke, a human rights activist.

'Bebe noir' are mostly young people between the ages of 13 and 30. A prosecutor in Brazaville, the capital has called their criminality 'terrorism'.

Rampant unemployment and a locak of social protection has been blamed for the rise in violent crime in Congo, a top oil producer.

Although Congo abolished the death penalty in 2015, extrajudicial killings are reigniting a climate of fear and abuse — even as a youth re-integration center is about to open in the Bouenza region, 200 km from Brazzaville.