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Players of DR Congo opted to make a show of solidarity instead of singing their national anthem ahead of Wednesday\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinal against Ivory Coast in Abidjan.<\/p>\n
Their country is affected by domestic instability and political strife after contested elections at the end of 2023, with the government now also contending with an armed insurgency by rebel group M23 in the east of the country.<\/p>\n
The Leopards camp had already spoken of their desire to offer solidarity with those affected by violence ahead of the match, and they opted to draw awareness to the plight of the Congolese by refusing to sing their anthem pre-match.<\/p>\n
Instead, the players clasped their right hands over their mouths while holding two fingers of their left hands to their temples.<\/p>\n
The gesture, which has been used as a goal celebration by DR Congo striker C\u00e9dric Bakambu since 2022, is to signify that people are being killed in the country but that no one is speaking out to stop the violence.<\/p>\n
The DR Congo players also wore black armbands in recognition of the lives lost in the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d DR Congo\u2019s French coach S\u00e9bastien Desabre said after his team\u2019s 1-0 loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are disappointed about this as well; we fought for all of the Congolese people, and we would have loved to have given them a smile this evening and to do the maximum in this competition,\u201d Desabre said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA national football team is a driving force for a nation, and this evening, it was also our duty to share what\u2019s happening in the East.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eastern Congo has struggled with armed violence for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities. The armed groups have long waged campaigns of violence in the mineral-rich region, and have been accused of mass killing.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 Players of DR Congo opted to make a show of solidarity instead of singing their national anthem ahead of Wednesday\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinal against Ivory Coast in Abidjan. Their country is affected by domestic instability and political strife after contested elections at the end of 2023, with the government now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
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