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Gunfire and explosions have ripped through a rally held by rebel leaders in a city they recently captured in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. <\/p>\n
Videos show chaotic scenes with bodies on the streets after the crowd fled the rally in Bukavu, the second-biggest city in the east, in panic. <\/p>\n
Casualty figures are unclear, but AFP news agency has quoted a hospital source as saying that at least 11 people have been killed and 60 others are wounded.<\/p>\n
This was the first rally that the Rwanda-backed rebels were holding in Bukavu since taking the city from government forces earlier this month following a rapid advance through the region. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The rebels accused President Felix Tshisekedi’s government of orchestrating the attack.<\/p>\n
However, Tshisekedi blamed it on “a foreign army” that he said was operating in the east.<\/p>\n
The rally had earlier been addressed by Corneille Nangaa, the head of the alliance of rebel groups that includes the Rwanda-backed M23.<\/p>\n
He promised the crowd that the rebels would bring safety and security to the city. <\/p>\n
“There will be special units and patrols that will take place in all the communes,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. <\/p>\n
It is believed that Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa of M23 had already left when the attack took place at Bukavu’s main square.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Nangaa said that two people had been apprehended in connection with the attack, and a search was under way for other suspects.<\/p>\n
“This cowardly and barbaric act will not go without consequences,” he said. <\/p>\n
The rebels have been advancing through eastern DR Congo since January, seizing Bukavu and Goma, the biggest city in the region. <\/p>\n
The fighting has forced about 500,000 people from their homes, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.<\/p>\n
The African Union and the UN have called for a ceasefire and for the rebels to withdraw from areas they now control.<\/p>\n
Rwanda used to deny backing the M23, but recently it has adopted a more defensive line, saying fighting near the border between DR Congo and Rwanda is a threat to its security.<\/p>\n
UN experts have previously estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops are in eastern DR Congo. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n