TEHRAN, February 28 (MNA) – At least 11 people were killed and 65 wounded when explosions rocked the city of Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during a rally for the M23 rebel group and their supporters.The DRC’s presidency, which says neighboring Rwanda is backing the rebels, said in a post on X that “several” deaths occurred on Thursday and blamed “a foreign army illegally present on Congolese soil”.

Corneille 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, Al Jazeera reported.

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, the video 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.

SD/