DR Congo explosion
At least nine people have been killed and 16 injured after an explosive device accidentally detonated in a field in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Image by gettyimages.com

Home » DR Congo: Tragic explosion leaves nine dead

DR Congo: Tragic explosion leaves nine dead

At least nine people have been killed and 16 injured after an explosive device accidentally detonated in a field in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said on Thursday. ALSO READ: DRC: ICC establishes a new way to tackle war crimes The blast occurred on Wednesday evening in Lubwe Sud in North Kivu province’s Rutshuru […]

20-07-23 13:38
DR Congo explosion
At least nine people have been killed and 16 injured after an explosive device accidentally detonated in a field in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Image by gettyimages.com

At least nine people have been killed and 16 injured after an explosive device accidentally detonated in a field in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said on Thursday.

ALSO READ: DRC: ICC establishes a new way to tackle war crimes

The blast occurred on Wednesday evening in Lubwe Sud in North Kivu province’s Rutshuru territory.

Justin Mwangaza, a local civil-society figure, told AFP that a civilian had picked up a bomb in a field and given it to a militiamen when it subsequently exploded.

Nine people were killed and 16 injured, he said.

ALSO READ: Just in: Joburg gas explosion – One person killed, 41 injured

A nurse at a nearby clinic confirmed the toll, explaining that two people died on the spot and seven later succumbed to their wounds.

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Some of the 16 wounded people are in critical condition, the nurse said.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll.

Armed groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

ALSO READ: UN pauses flights in DRC after helicopter attack

One such group, the M23, has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu since taking up arms again in late 2021 after years of dormancy.

The rebel campaign has displaced over one million people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

ALSO READ: SANDF soldier killed in DRC remembered

Independent UN experts, the DRC government and several Western nations including the United States and France accuse Rwanda of actively backing the M23, despite denials from Kigali.

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