(Reuters) -Crowds fled as gunfire rang out at a rally held by the leader of the M23 rebel group, Corneille Nangaa, in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Bukavu on Thursday, residents said.

Gunfire disrupted a rally by M23 leader Corneille Nangaa in Bukavu, escalating fears of regional conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbors. M23 claims territorial control and is attempting to establish order,

Nangaa told Reuters by phone that Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi had ordered the attack, without providing evidence. Nangaa said that he was not wounded and other senior members of the rebel grouping - which has battled Congo's army and seized swathes of territory in the east since the beginning of the year - were safe.

Explosions killed 11 people and wounded 65 at a rally held by M23 rebels in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu on Thursday, the leader of the rebel alliance said, blaming President Felix Tshisekedi for the violence.

Democratic Republic of Congo's government and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels traded blame on Friday for several explosions at a rally in the rebel-held eastern city of Bukavu that killed 13 people and wounded scores of others the previous day.

Gunfire and explosions have ripped through a rally held by rebel leaders in a city they recently captured in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Videos show chaotic scenes with bodies on the streets after the crowd fled the rally in Bukavu,