The Reason Behind DR Congo's Peaceful AFCON Protest

DR Congo's players and coach Sébastien Desabre protested before their team's Africa Cup of Nations semi-final on Wednesday evening against the Ivory Coast.

Here's the reason for their demonstration... 

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What's the story?

The Dr Congo’s players and their French head coach Sébastien Desabre protested before their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final loss to Ivory Coast in Abidjan.

The players and coach all held their right hands in front of their mouths and two fingers to their temples during a portion of Congo's national anthem, the players also wore black armbands for last night's encounter.

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Let's take a closer look at what this peaceful protest was about...

Explaining DR Congo's protest

Ivory Coast and Sebastien Haller dashed the dreams of the Congolese to continue their run in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan to reach the tournament final against Nigeria.

During the anthems, the DR Congo team used their major AFCON platform to spotlight the major conflict taking place in the eastern region of their country.

"It was a message to show support to the victims, to notify people that there are indeed things happening in the east and that it is necessary to shed light on it. People are disappointed about that, too," said Desabre said after his side's 1-0 loss.

Captain Chancel Mbemba and forward Cédric Bakambu had already raised their voices to draw more eyes to the issue on social media:

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Here's how people reacted to the peaceful protest online:

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