Chaos in Bukavu, DRC, as gunfire disrupts rally

Rebel leader threatens consequences for those responsible

On Wednesday, gunfire and explosions disrupted a rally in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The rally was held by rebel leaders in Bukavu, a city they recently captured in eastern DRC.

According to a French online news agency AFP, there are videos of chaotic scenes with bodies on the streets after the crowd, in panic, fled the rally in Bukavu, the second-biggest city in the east.

The French news agency has quoted a hospital source as saying that at least 11 people have been killed and 60 others are wounded.

Though figures of casualties are quite unclear.

This was the first rally that the Rwanda-backed rebels were holding in Bukavu since taking the city from government forces earlier this month following a rapid advance through the region.

Reports say the rebels accused President Felix Tshisekedi’s government of orchestrating the attack.

However, Tshisekedi blamed it on “a foreign army” that he said was operating in the east.

Corneille Nangaa, the head of the alliance of rebel groups that includes the Rwanda-backed M23 had earlier addressed the rally.

He assured the crowd that they would bring safety and security to the city.

Nangaa was quoted as saying that there will be special units and patrols that will take place in all the communes.

Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa of M23 were said to have already left when the attack took place at Bukavu’s main square.

In a statement by Nangaa, he said that two people in connection with the attack had been apprehended, and a search was under way for other suspects.

He threatened that the people responsible for this act will face the consequences.

The rebels have been advancing through eastern DR Congo since January, seizing Bukavu and Goma, the biggest city in the region.

According to the UN, the fighting has forced about 500,000 people from their homes, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis.

The African Union and the UN have called for a ceasefire and for the rebels to withdraw from areas they now control.

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