DRC: The results of the explosions in Bukavu increases 16 dead

The number of victims of the two explosions on Thursday in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), increased to 16 dead and 95 injured, the Congolese government announced on Friday evening.

The deflagrations occurred shortly after a political meeting organized in support of the March 23 Movement (M23), on the Place de l’Indendance, where Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River (AFC), a politico-military group had been expressed, allied with the M23. Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya delivered this report on national television after the Council of Ministers chaired by President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa.

In a press release, the M23 awarded the explosions to the Congolese forces, saying that some authors had been neutralized. Two suspects were arrested. The M23, which controls several territories in the east of the country, notably Goma and Bukavu, recently established a parallel administration in North Kivu and appointed Friday a governor for South Kivu.

The conflict between the Congolese government and the M23 finds its roots in the ethnic tensions between Tutsis and Hutus, exacerbated by the consequences of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Kigali criticizes the DRC of allying the democratic forces of Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebellious group involved in the genocide.

This crisis, which provokes significant displacements of populations, aggravates the humanitarian situation in the region, despite diplomatic and military efforts aimed at eating hostilities.