Kinshasa, Feb 27 (IANS) Several explosions were reported on Thursday at Independence Square in Bukavu town in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), shortly after a political rally in support of the rebel March 23 Movement (M23), according to local media.
The blasts occurred shortly after the rally, where Corneille Nangaa, the political leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a politico-military group allied to the M23, spoke, according to reports.
Deaths and injuries were reported, and the nature of the explosions has yet to be determined.
M23 rebels have captured many cities and towns, including Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, in eastern DRC, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN raised concern, saying: “Humanitarian crisis is worsening as violence escalated in three eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).”
The provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri have seen a recent surge in hostilities, as part of M23 rebels in the Kivus stated aim to take Kinshasa. In Ituri, violence is usually attributed to fighting over land and resources and between ethnic groups. The eastern DRC is rich in minerals.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday reported an alarming escalation in violence and insecurity in recent days in the city of Uvira, about 100 km south of South Kivu’s provincial capital, Bukavu. The clashes put local communities and humanitarian workers in extreme danger, with humanitarian partners reporting multiple incidents of looting and sexual violence.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said that about one million people have been displaced since the beginning of 2025 in Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo seized by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.
According to a report by the WFP, the security situation in the DRC has worsened significantly since M23 rebels took control of Goma and Bukavu, the respective capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
–IANS
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