Overview
- A fast-moving blaze broke out in Bukavu on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, spreading from a house into the Ujamaa and Furaha schools and a nearby hillside settlement and triggering a panicked stampede.
- Official counts differ: the South Kivu provincial government put the provisional toll at 26 students, the rebel-appointed vice governor said 24 died, and a local clinic reported 14 child deaths, with authorities warning the number could rise.
- Dozens were treated for smoke inhalation and injuries, with reports that 29 people were receiving care including many in intensive care and some patients being transferred to other hospitals.
- Local media and witnesses say the blaze destroyed between 300 and 500 wooden homes and damaged a clinic, and an inquiry has been opened to determine how the fire started and spread through the densely built area.
- Bukavu has been under control of the Rwanda-backed M23 group since February 2025, a fact that shapes which authorities are reporting and responding to the disaster while repeated hillside fires and limited firefighting capacity raise risks of further civilian harm and displacement.