DAKAR (Reuters) - Congolese security forces evicted illegal miners from a copper and cobalt mine run by Glencore <GLEN.L> on Thursday and then dispersed them when they protested outside the governor's office, local activists said.
The move by the police and army came one week after a landslide at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) concession, majority-owned by a Glencore subsidiary, killed 43 people, prompting the government to promise to remove the miners.
Glencore said in a statement the army had been deployed to KCC. It said the company had insisted that soldiers exercise restraint and respect human rights.
Earlier this week, the illegal miners defied a deadline from the army to leave the mine, prompting fears from human rights advocates of violent clashes.
Emmanuel Umpula, the director of watchdog group African Resources Watch, said that after being evicted, some of the miners protested outside the governor's office in the city of Kolwezi to demand a new concession to exploit and were dispersed by security forces.
Mike Lameki, a human rights activist in Kolwezi, said the miners marched on the governor's office at around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT). After being dispersed, they headed to the neighbourhood of Kasulo, where they attacked several stores.
Photos shared by Lameki from one store showed shattered glass and supermarket items strewn across the floor.
Umpula and Lameki both said the security forces had opened fire to disperse the protesters, but it was unclear if they had fired live rounds or rubber bullets.
Army and government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
