Death toll reaches 36 in eastern DRC as protesters turn on UN peacekeepers

Protesters target the UN peacekeeping mission in Goma in July. The perception is that Monusco is failing to stop attacks by armed groups. Photograph: Michel Lunanga/AFP/Getty Images

Fears of a new wave of violence in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are growing after weeks of deadly protests against UN peacekeepers and rising regional tensions.

Thirty-six people, including four UN peacekeepers, have died in the past two weeks as hundreds of protesters vandalised and set fire to UN buildings in several cities in eastern frontier provinces.