School fire in rebel-held Bukavu in eastern DR Congo kills at least 24 children in stampede

A school fire in the eastern Congolese city of Bukavu killed at least 24 children in a stampede as they tried to escape, according to the BBC. Authorities appointed by the rebel movement warned that the actual death toll could be higher.

Bukavu, in South Kivu province, is one of the country's most densely populated hill cities. It has been outside the control of the central government in Kinshasa since the M23 rebel movement seized it in February last year. Reuters, citing witnesses at the scene, reported that the fire was extinguished in the afternoon, but smoke was still rising from the ruins and corrugated-metal debris. Photos circulating on social media showed young children lying motionless on the ground, while other rescued children moaned in pain on a hospital floor.

About 300 homes were also destroyed by the blaze. Authorities installed by the rebel movement issued a provisional death toll of 24 on Thursday evening, confirming earlier reports while warning that more people may have died. Because the area is densely populated, the final toll has not been established. The cause of the fire is also unclear.

The central government's education ministry in Kinshasa later expressed its deep condolences on X, but did not publish specific casualty figures. ‘The Ministry of National Education and New Citizenship is deeply saddened by this deadly fire,’ it said, adding that ‘given the number of people killed and injured, the casualty figures remain provisional.’ The minister offered condolences to the victims' families, expressed solidarity with them, and ordered an assessment of the affected schools to ensure the continuity of education.

The incident is the second major fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks to cause significant loss of life. Last weekend, people died in a stampede during a similar fire at a wedding reception hall in Kinshasa. In response, the central government ordered strict safety standards in public places nationwide and deployed inspection teams.

Those instructions are difficult to implement in a city such as Bukavu, which is outside central-government control and administered by rebels. Over the past year, the M23 rebel movement has rapidly expanded in the east, taking several important cities, including Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. The fighting has displaced large numbers of civilians and deepened the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has repeatedly warned that eastern Congo is one of the regions with the world's largest displaced populations.

When a school becomes a death trap and hundreds of homes are consumed by fire, the severe absence of firefighting response, emergency evacuation and basic public-safety systems in rebel-held areas is laid bare. Children who should have been receiving an education in classrooms lost their lives in a stampede. It is the latest shadow cast by a conflict the international community has neglected for years.