At least 11 dead and scores injured in Congo after blasts at M23 rebel leaders’ rally, rebels say
PBS NewsHourFEB 26
DR Congo: At Least 16 Killed in Blasts at M23 Rally
Above: Hospital workers carry an injured man at Bukavu Provincial Hospital in Bukavu as two explosions rocked the city in eastern DR Congo on Feb. 27, 2025. Image copyright: Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
A spokesman for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said on Friday that the death toll from explosions after a political gathering of the Congolese anti-government March 23 Movement (M23) has risen to 16, with scores being treated for injuries in the hospital.
The incident took place on Thursday at the main square of Bukavu as the militia and its allies held their first rally in the second largest city in eastern DRC since its seizure last month. Corneille Nangaa of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23, and Bertrand Bisimwa of the M23 were present at the rally but left before the blasts.
It's still unclear what exactly happened, following unverified reports of a missed attack against the rebel leaders' convoy, of a confrontation between an M23 fighter and civilians, and of bombs placed near the loudspeakers.
The Spin
Narrative A
This incident was a heinous terrorist act perpetrated by Rwandan forces illegally present on Congolese soil in a false flag operation to justify retaliatory actions in support of its armed proxy, the M23. Kigali has long resorted to such methods, and it's no coincidence that the blasts caused no harm to rebel leaders or damage to the stage on which they stood.
Narrative B
That Kinshasa claims that Rwanda and the M23 carried out the Bukavu attack stresses, at best, their complete ignorance of the situation in North and South Kivu, where Tutsis have been persecuted and subjected to ethnic cleansing and other heinous crimes. Furthermore, explosives used in the attack seem to have originated from Burundi — an ally of Kinshasa.