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Gunfire rang out in the DR Congo town of Beni yesterday as protesters demanding the United Nations’ withdrawal from the city again marched towards the UN headquarters.

Security forces blocked hundreds of demonstrators attempting to get close to the UN compound housed inside the airport near Beni, one of two UN bases in the area.

“We still have heavy gunfire here and local sources are confirming the deaths of two people, including a young boy and a woman,” said Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from Beni, quoting officials from the hospital where the bodies were taken.

“They are saying they don’t feel safe and the UN has to leave. They say they will not stop protesting until the UN leaves this area,” Uaykani said.

Anger erupted last week over the perceived failure of UN peacekeepers to protect civilians from deadly rebel attacks with several mass demonstrations targeting UN facilities in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

On Friday, at least 19 people were killed by attackers believed to be from the feared Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group operating in the dense forests bordering Uganda. Many of the victims were hacked to death or beheaded, according to local rights groups.

Eight Beni residents were killed late on November 24 by suspected ADF fighters, prompting angry protesters to take to the streets. Last Monday, four people were killed in clashes with security forces after angry demonstrators torched the mayor’s office and attacked several UN buildings in Beni.

Christoph Vogel, a researcher at the University of Ghent, Brussels and a former UN expert on DRC, said the situation was extremely concerning with the deadly attacks that began in 2014 and the ongoing Ebola outbreak.-AP