WeeklySA_AdminTERROR: Two explosions rock city in eastern DR Congo after meeting called by one of the armed groups…
By Own Correspondent
A United Nations agency has condemned the attack using explosives against civilians in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Bukavu (South Kivu), which resulted in the death of 13 people and left an estimated 100 others seriously injured yesterday.
The tragedy occurred during a rally organised by rebel group AFC/M23 at the Place de l’Indépendance in Bukavu.
Bintou Keita, from the United Nation’s Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), condemned the incident and expressed condolences to the families of the victims, the people and government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MONUSCO called on Congolese authorities to promptly conduct investigations to identify the perpetrators of the attacks and bring them to justice.
Keita also condemned repeated attacks against civilians that continue in the Beni territory (North Kivu) by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and in Ituri by the Zaire militias and the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO).
“This climate of terror and the resulting trauma called for urgent action to restore a peaceful life free of violence,” Keita said.
She reiterated MONUSCO’s readiness to contribute to the urgent implementation of Resolution 2773 (2025) and to support diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a final and lasting resolution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, rebel alliance commander Corneille Nangaa was earlier quoted as saying 65 people were wounded in blasts as DRC presidency blamed ‘a foreign army’ present in the country.
Two explosions rocked the meeting of the M23 attended by one of the armed groups linked to Nangaa. Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by anti-government M23 fighters, who UN experts say are backed by Rwandan forces.
Nangaa – who is the leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes M23, and who had himself been present at the rally – said grenades were used in the explosions and were the same type used by Burundi’s army in the DRC. His claims could not be verified. The first explosion caused panic, sending attendees fleeing from the area before a second explosion rang out, according to the AFP news agency. Residents said the explosions were accompanied by gunfire.
People ran through the streets, some bleeding and carrying limp bodies, videos showed. Residents said they saw dead people.
The meeting was the first to be attended by Nangaa since his forces seized control of Bukavu, the region’s second largest city, nearly two weeks ago. Nangaa told the Reuters news agency by phone that neither he nor other senior rebel commanders were wounded in the attack.
New phase
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has entered a new and more destabilising stage, Africa Centre for Strategic Studies has warned.
This development follows Rwandan-backed M23 rebel forces’ continuing offensive to seize more territory in the eastern DRC, and dismissal of a call for a pause in the fighting by leaders from the 8 member states of the East African Community (EAC) and 16 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies specialises in governance, mediation, peace processes, peacekeeping on the continent.
In a report circulated by Relief Web, the research group reports that the M23 has pressed farther south, capturing Kamanyola on its way to Uvira (population of 650 000), the third largest city in the Kivus. Another prong has moved north of Goma towards Butembo (population of 280 000), according to the report. This follows the rebel’s taking over of Goma (population of 2 million) and Bukavu (population 1.3 million), the respective capitals of North and South Kivu Provinces.
With the prospect of the M23 controlling the entirety of the 124 000 km2 of the mineral-rich Kivus, Rwanda would effectively be gaining a territory nearly five times its size, according to the report.
Nor would this necessarily be the culmination of Rwanda’s territorial ambitions. Tensions have already started surfacing in Kisangani (in north central DRC) and Lubumbashi (in the south of the country) following the M23’s threats to push all the way to Kinshasa. – Additional reporting by Al Jazeera
