AFRICA/DR CONGO - Rebel movement M23 is said to be responsible for the attack in Bukavu

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "According to credible witnesses, the two explosions that hit the crowd in Bukavu are attributable to the M23," a local source from the capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu tells Fides.
On February 27, at the end of a rally organized by Corneille Nanga, coordinator of the Congo River Alliance (the political wing of the M23), two hand grenades exploded on the Place de l'Indépendance, leaving 13 dead and a hundred injured. The double attack was attributed by the M23 on the authorities in Kinshasa, but there were at least three versions of who was supposedly responsible for the massacre (see Fides, 27/2/2025). Now our source, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, reconstructs the events as follows: "According to a witness who was wounded in the double attack, at the end of the speech by the 'new authorities' on the Place de l'Indépendance, an invitation was made to the young people to join the M23; then, while most of the bystanders left the square, some young people began to shout: 'Rwandans, go back to your homes'. This angered the M23 militiamen who were present to guard the event. In particular, militiamen were positioned in two small trucks on opposite sides of the square. A hand grenade was thrown from one of the trucks, causing the first victims. On the other side of the square, a second grenade was thrown from the other truck, causing more deaths and injuries. At least one person was hit in the head and is now in a coma."
"The fact that the M23 was responsible for the massacre," our source continues, "is confirmed by the fact that the area of the two explosions was immediately surrounded by militiamen who prevented the fragments from being collected. The next day, the square was perfectly clean, without any trace of the bombs or the blood of the victims." The Fides source adds that the security situation in Bukavu remains precarious. "There are still many deaths in the city because, in the absence of the police and the prison (which was set on fire when the city was taken, see Fides, 20/2/2025), people resort to the so-called 'popular justice' to defend themselves against crimes. This has already happened before with thieves and robbers; Fearing that if they were handed over to the police they would be released and then return to take revenge on those who had denounced them, some preferred to resort to a quicker form of justice by killing and burning thieves and robbers. On February 27 alone, five people accused of various robberies were found murdered in a district of the city. This is the situation of a population left to its own devices." Finally, according to our source, "the so-called 'Wazalendo', the local self-defense militias, are reorganizing themselves after the regular army soldiers fled." "According to the testimonies collected, on March 1, an M23 formation was ambushed by the Wazalendo near Minova. There are reports of around 50 deaths among the M23. The fighting these days is concentrated in the Nyangesi area, a strategic point on the road from Bukavu to the plain. However, the M23 is located in Kamaniola, while the Wazalendo are stationed in a nearby town." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 3/3/2025)

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