East DR Congo explosions kill at least 11 / Photo: © AFP
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East DR Congo explosions kill at least 11
Two explosions that rocked a city in eastern DR Congo after a meeting of the M23 armed group Thursday have killed at least 11 people and injured around 60, a hospital source told AFP.
President Felix Tshisekedi called the explosions a "heinous terrorist act."
A first explosion caused panic, sending spectators fleeing, before a second rang out.
The meeting, which took place in South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu was attended by one of the armed group's leaders Corneille Nangaa.
"At the morgue, there are 11 bodies," all of whom arrived dead, the hospital source said at Bukavu provincial general hospital.
The source added that "in terms of injuries, there are already around 60 (people)".
Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by anti-government M23 fighters who UN experts say are backed by Rwandan forces.
Witnesses present at the M23 meeting had previously told AFP that they had seen between five and seven bodies after the explosions.
East DRC has been the scene of decades of relentless conflict but has been plunged into fresh turmoil as fighters from the M23 group seize swathes of territory in the two provinces.
The seizure of Bukavu and Goma gives a major foothold in the mineral-rich region to the group, which resurfaced in late 2021.
R.Braegger--VB