Portugal Colonial - Explosions at M23 rally in east DR Congo kill at least 11

A first explosion caused panic, sending spectators fleeing, before a second explosion detonated, with pools of blood visible and abandoned shoes strewn across the scene in the city of Bukavu.

President Felix Tshisekedi called the explosions a "henious terrorist act" in the eastern region where M23 fighters have captured swathes of territory in recent weeks in battles with the Congolese army.

An AFP journalist saw several of the wounded calling for help after the explosion, which took place following the meeting in Independence Square where thousands of people had earlier gathered.

The rally was attended by Corneille Nangaa, head of a coalition of groups that includes the M23.

He was leaving the platform where he had been speaking when the explosion sounded, an AFP journalist saw.

It was not immediately clear what the source of the explosions was.

Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by anti-government M23 fighters who UN experts say are backed by at least 4,000 Rwandan troops.

Mineral-rich eastern DRC has been the scene of decades of relentless conflict but has been plunged into fresh turmoil as fighters from the M23 group seize tracts of territory in two provinces.

At the hospital in Bukavu, dozens of people were gathered in front of the gates waiting for news of loved ones, an AFP journalist saw.

"At the morgue, there are 11 bodies," all of whom arrived dead, the hospital source said at Bukavu provincial general hospital.

The source added that "in terms of injuries, there are already around 60 (people)".

A Bukavu resident speaking on condition of anonymity said he had seen "stretchers with five bodies... that have just been taken to the morgue".

"There are also several injured people," the witness added.

- 'People with bad intentions'-

An M23 spokesman, Willy Ngoma, said the leaders of the armed group were targeted by the explosions.

"A lot of people have just died, there were people with bad intentions in the crowd," witness Antoine Aganze told AFP, adding that he had "seen seven bodies".

Mushagalusa Irenge, who had attended the meeting, told AFP that he "saw a device fall from the sky in the middle of the crowd".

Witnesses present at the meeting had previously told AFP that they had seen between five and seven bodies after the explosions.

The seizure of Bukavu and Goma gives the group a major foothold in the region.

After taking the two cities, the M23 continued to advance in several directions across North and South Kivu, without encountering any real resistance from the DRC army.

Witnesses reported Tuesday the presence of M23 fighters about 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Uvira, a town on the northwestern tip of Lake Tanganyika, which faces Burundi's economic capital, Bujumbura.

Residents in the area also reported the deployment of Burundian troops on the road between the M23 units and Uvira.

Uganda has deployed troops to the DRC in an area along its border, although no fighting has immediately been reported there.

Earlier this week, African countries appointed a trio of ex-leaders to oversee a push for peace amid fears of a regional war.

The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have appointed ex-Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta, ex-Ethiopia prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn and ex-Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo as "facilitators" of a new peace process.

L.Carrico--PC