Major fire breaks out in Rwanda-backed rebel-controlled area; at least 24 children killed in Bukavu

According to a Reuters report, a severe fire broke out in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 24 children in the blaze, including 19 girls and 5 boys. South Kivu Deputy Governor Dunia Masumbuko Bwenge told Reuters that the fire simultaneously destroyed two schools and approximately 300 wooden houses, with another 29 people injured. He was appointed by the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 armed group that controls Bukavu.

According to a Reuters report, the AFC/M23 armed group controlling Bukavu said in a statement that the provisional death toll stood at 24, with another 29 people receiving medical treatment, 21 of whom were in intensive care units. The armed group also said it was investigating the cause of the fire and the specific location.

The AFC/M23 armed group seized Bukavu early last year through a lightning offensive that swept through eastern Congo. The armed group has long been alleged to receive Rwanda's backing, and its advance has produced mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.

Witness Pierre Mudahama described the scene to Reuters when the fire broke out: "We were on the street, the children had just gone to school, and the fire started burning not far from the school." He added that ambulances arrived and gradually transported away the bodies and the injured. Reuters reporters saw that by the afternoon, although the blaze had been extinguished, white smoke was still rising from piles of debris and twisted corrugated iron sheeting.

Reuters cited the rebel armed group's statement as putting the death toll at 24, but a man at the scene told Reuters that he had helped load 17 bodies — including men and children — onto ambulances. A local medical center said it had received 10 bodies of victims, while another hospital said it had admitted more than 50 students, 14 of whom had died. Residents and medical workers warned that the final death toll could continue to rise.

Against the backdrop of Rwanda-backed armed groups controlling Bukavu, the heavy toll of children in this fire highlights the vulnerability of civilians in eastern Congo under external military intervention.