Updated

Congo's government spokesman says three people were injured when men armed with stones and batons descended on an opposition rally that was demanding that President Joseph Kabila leave office when his term expires next year.

Lambert Mende said the government condemned the violence and was trying to identify the assailants.

An Associated Press reporter saw the plainclothes assailants attack some of the more than 1,000 people who gathered Tuesday in Kinshasa.

It was the first large-scale opposition gathering in the capital since thousands took to the streets in January to condemn a proposed revision to the electoral law that was perceived as an attempt by Kabila to stay in power beyond 2016.

That revision was scrapped, but Kabila's opponents still suspect the president may try to extend his mandate.