At least 11 dead and scores injured in Congo after blasts at M23 rebel leaders’ rally, rebels say
PBS NewsHourFEB 27
DR Congo: At Least 16 Killed in Blasts at M23 Rally
Above: Hospital workers carry an injured man at Bukavu Provincial Hospital in Bukavu as two explosions rocked the city in eastern DR Congo on Feb. 27, 2025. Image copyright: Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
This incident was a heinous terrorist act perpetrated by Rwandan forces illegally present on Congolese soil in a false flag operation to justify retaliatory actions in support of its armed proxy, the M23. Kigali has long resorted to such methods, and it's no coincidence that the blasts caused no harm to rebel leaders or damage to the stage on which they stood.
Narrative B
That Kinshasa claims that Rwanda and the M23 carried out the Bukavu attack stresses, at best, their complete ignorance of the situation in North and South Kivu, where Tutsis have been persecuted and subjected to ethnic cleansing and other heinous crimes. Furthermore, explosives used in the attack seem to have originated from Burundi — an ally of Kinshasa.