BUKAVU (Congo): Explosions killed 11 people and wounded 65 at a rally held by M23 rebels in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu on Thursday, the leader of the rebel alliance said, blaming President Felix Tshisekedi for the violence.
Congo’s presidency, which says neighbouring Rwanda is backing the insurgents, said on X there had been “several” deaths and blamed “a foreign army illegally present on Congolese soil”.
Neither side offered evidence for their claims.
The incident risked further escalating the war in the mineral-rich east of Democratic Republic of Congo, which has already drawn in several neighbouring countries.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of a rebel alliance that includes M23, said at a press conference that grenades used were the same type as employed by Burundi’s army in Congo.
Reuters could not independently verify this.
Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there, but more recently, to aid in the fight against M23.
Burundian army spokesperson Brigadier General Gaspard Baratuza condemned the attack. He said on X there were no Burundian soldiers in Bukavu, but did not specifically address Nangaa’s claim about the grenades.