KINSHASA: Congo has stepped up security in the capital Kinshasa amid concerns about the safety of athletes taking part in the International Francophone Games starting this week, the government said on Tuesday.
Around 4,500 additional police backed by state security agents have been deployed ahead of the event, the game’s coordinator Isidor Kwanja said.
Athletes will be personally escorted by the police and their accommodation has been fitted with surveillance cameras. The lack of security in the city is the latest setback for organiZers of the 10-day Jeux de la Francophonie, which had already been pushed back two years from 2021 to bring infrastructure up to international standards.
Another conflict emerged on Tuesday when the International Organization of the Francophonie, which hosts the games, announced that its secretary general, Louise Mushikiwabo, would not be attending.