(VOVworld) - More than 50 people were killed on Monday in clashes between protesters and security forces in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, opposition groups said, calling for further anti-government demonstrations.

A demonstration in Goma, DR Congo on September 19, 2016. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The coalition of opposition groups deplored the number of victims of the police and republican guard firing real bullets.

The rally was called to demand the resignation of President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2001. The Monday clashes were the worst violence in Kinshasa since last January when a police crackdown on another opposition protest left several dozen people dead.

Although President Kabila is banned by the constitution from running again, he has not made any move to schedule elections, fuelling fears he will seek to extend his stay in office.