DRC: 27 children killed in a fire in Bukavu, occupied by the Rwandan army

September 10th, 2026 (ACP) .- At least 27 children (19 girls and 8 boys) have been killed in the fire that has destroyed 300 homes and two schools in Bukavu, a town occupied by the Rwandan army and its M23 militias in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to preliminary figures from hospital and school sources contacted by the ACP from Kinshasa. “Twenty-nine persons have also been injured, including 17 being treated at Kadutu General Hospital and 12 at the Kadutu Provincial General Referral Hospital,” according to hospital sources. More than 300 houses have been set on fire, whilst two schools – EP Mosala, in the commune of Bagira, and EP Nongo, in the commune of Kadutu – have also been affected, according to school sources. The exact circumstances of how the fire started were not immediately known. “We do not know the cause of the fire. We have been taken by surprise; we believe it was started with criminal intent. It has now spread to three streets: Kasheke, Lugulu and Elila,” the sources have indicated. The death toll is likely to rise, according to the same sources. “We don’t know what’s happening in Bukavu. In the space of a month, we’ve recorded 18 fires, with more than 50 deaths already. We need the government of the Republic to come to our aid. We don’t know where we’re going to spend the night with the children at this time of the new school term,” a local resident has told the ACP in a telephone interview. Bukavu, the capital of Sud-Kivu province, has been under the control of the M23 armed group and the Rwandan army since February 2025. The death toll is likely to rise, according to the same sources. ACP/