Bukavu: The city of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has held funerals for 27 people who died in a fire that destroyed a school in the Cimpunda district on September 10.
Six of those who died were adults, while the remaining victims were minors and pupils at the affected school. The tragedy has deepened concern among residents as a series of fires has struck different parts of Bukavu over the past week.
According to the provincial coordination of Civil Society of South Kivu, hundreds of homes, two schools, a church and 66 shops at Kadutu market have been destroyed by fires in less than a week.
Among the affected areas is Ponzi, where 40 homes were destroyed and three people died. In Nyamugo, 174 families have been left without homes. The civil society statement also cited figures from the Congolese administration based in Uvira, saying that 2,500 homes were destroyed by fire between July and August this year.
Civil society groups in Bukavu have described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe and are demanding answers about the repeated fires. They have questioned the absence of adequate fire services and called for investigations into the causes of the incidents.
Bukavu is currently under the control of M23 rebels. Civil society representatives have also accused the M23 administration of collecting taxes from residents without providing essential services, particularly assistance to people who have lost their homes.
The groups are appealing to the international community and the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support about 12,000 people described as being in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
They are also calling for urgent assistance to communities affected by the fires, the deployment of fire engines donated by a well wisher and the reconstruction of the two schools destroyed in the fires.