KIGALI, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and 22 others wounded on Tuesday as protests over reduced food rations by refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) turned violent, Rwandan police said Friday.
About 500 refugees left the Kiziba refugee camp in Karongi District and began protesting, police said on their official Twitter account.
Though officials from the government, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and local leaders told them to return to the camp as their grievances were being looked into, the protesters, armed with stones, sticks and metal objects, began to assault police officers.
Police used "proportional force" to bring the situation under control, the tweet said, adding that 20 rioters and seven police officers were injured in the scuffles.
The wounded were rushed to hospital where five protesters succumbed to their injuries.
Police said 15 refugees had been arrested for illegal demonstration and inciting violence.
The Kiziba camp hosts over 17,000 refugees, around 77 percent of whom are women and children, according to the UNHCR.
The UNHCR on Thursday called on the refugees and the Rwandan authorities to keep calm and show restraint.
It also said some refugees have indicated their desire to return to the DRC and urged the refugees to make an informed decision and not to listen to misinformation or rumors while they have the right to return to their country.
Humanitarian operations in Rwanda remain "severely underfunded," forcing the World Food Programme to cut food rations for refugees by 10 percent in November 2017, and by 25 percent in January 2018, according to the UNHCR.
Rwanda hosts over 173,000 refugees in six camps.
