KINSHASA, February (AMSP/CGTN) – – The M23 rebel group is advancing into a new province in eastern DRC, after capturing swathes of territory in the mineral-rich province of North Kivu. Its offensive has displaced more than 2 million people and led to an increase in the illegal exploitation of minerals in areas under their control, UN experts say.
The town of Rubaya is home to one of the world’s largest single deposits of coltan. The mineral is used for making cell phones and laptops. But the town was captured by the M23 rebels last year.
A recent report by UN experts says the rebels make about $800,000 a month from taxes collected from the coltan mines. Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of backing the rebels in order to plunder their neighbour’s minerals, a claim Rwanada denies.
“It’s been more than 30 years that the looting of Congolese minerals has been going on. There are mining sites that Rwanda used to exploit directly during the government of our former president. There were minerals from DRC that could only get certified in Rwanda!,” said Arthur Kayumba, a Congolese Security Analyst.
Analysts say the illicit trade in minerals that the M23 and other rebel groups are carrying out has to be stopped in order to restore peace.
“The first thing our government has to do is to take full control of that zone because without state authority, looting and violence will continue,” Congolese Political Analyst Christian Moleka told CGTN’s Chris Ocamringa.
The east of the DRC has been trapped in a cycle of violence since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when ethnic Hutus targeted Tutsis and some moderate Hutus. The rivalry spilled over into the eastern DRC after many Hutus fled there.
M23 rebels say they are fighting to protect their community of Tutsis from Hutu militias who are fighting alongside government forces.
UN experts say the seizure of the mining town of Rubaya has enabled the M23 rebels to fund their operations and build a road that connects to neighbouring Rwanda, where the minerals are exported abroad. But Rwandan authorities have dismissed the allegations.
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CGTN