Riot police in the Democratic Republic of Congo fired teargas to break up a rally called by opposition leaders to protest against government plans to change the constitution after clashes with pro-government supporters.
The ruling majority has sought for weeks to remove the Congolese constitution's two-term limit for presidents.
The main parties of the opposition came together last month in a coalition to oppose what they see as the president's attempt to cling to power.
In power since 2019, President Felix Tshisekedi, 62, comes to the end of his second - and, under the current constitution, final - five-year mandate in 2028.
However, he has recently declared that he would agree to lead the country for a third term "if the people wish it" after a referendum on reforming the constitution.
Skirmishes outside parliament
On Friday, the C64 coalition called a rally in front of the parliament building in the capital, Kinshasa, to protest changing the constitution.
But the gathering quickly degenerated into skirmishes between opposition supporters and pro-government activists, and then with police, an AFP journalist saw. Police fired tear gas at the demonstrators.
Martin Fayulu, who came second to Tshisekedi in the 2018 presidential election and third in 2023, and fellow opposition figure Prince Epenge were slightly injured in the clashes, the AFP journalist saw.
Following the unrest, some opposition protesters, including several who were also injured, took refuge in the headquarters of Fayulu's Commitment to Citizenship and Development (ECIDE) party.
Under the constitution, the number and length of presidential mandates in the DRC cannot be subject to revision.
Bill in parliament
A bill currently before the National Assembly, however, aims to allow the president to amend the articles of the constitution in the event of a "major dysfunction" paralysing state institutions, following a referendum.
The C64 coalition is calling for the withdrawal of the bill, which it says is a "serious threat" to the country's stability.
Former president Joseph Kabila, who has been sentenced to death in absentia accused of supporting the M23 armed group, urged the Congolese to support all initiatives opposing constitutional change.
