Latest news with #M23-appointed
TimesLIVE
25-04-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Mine collapse in eastern DRC kills at least 10, says provincial governor
At least 10 people were killed in a gold mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the rebel-appointed governor of South Kivu province said on Thursday. M23 rebels have seized east DRC's two biggest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into DRC of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of DRC's vast mineral resources. DRC's government and M23 pledged in a statement released on Wednesday after talks in Qatar to work towards peace, raising a glimmer of hope in the latest cycle of violence. Douglas Dunia Masumbuko, the M23-appointed South Kivu governor, told Reuters on Thursday that the death toll at the Luhihi mine had reached 10 "and could rise, given the number of injuries". He blamed the incident on "uncontrolled construction and poor maintenance of gold wells" in the area. Mining accidents are rife in the giant Central African country, especially at small artisanal sites. Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi, who was governor of South Kivu before M23 took over, confirmed there had been a collapse at the mine but did not provide a death toll.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mine collapse in eastern Congo kills at least 10 people, rebel-appointed provincial governor says
(Reuters) -At least 10 people were killed in a gold mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the rebel-appointed governor of South Kivu province said on Thursday. M23 rebels have seized east Congo's two biggest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources. Congo's government and M23 pledged in a statement released on Wednesday after talks in Qatar to work towards peace, raising a glimmer of hope in the latest cycle of violence. Douglas Dunia Masumbuko, the M23-appointed South Kivu governor, told Reuters on Thursday that the death toll at the Luhihi mine had reached 10 "and could rise given the number of injuries." He blamed the incident on "uncontrolled construction and poor maintenance of gold wells" in the area. Mining accidents are rife in the giant Central African country, especially at small, artisanal sites. Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi, who was governor of South Kivu before M23 took over, confirmed there had been a collapse at the mine but did not provide a death toll.
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Wealth and Warfare Empower a Rwanda-Backed Militant Group in Congo
Rare-earth minerals critical for smartphone manufacturing. Lucrative trafficking routes and dizzying stockpiles of weapons. The lives of millions of people. All are now under the control of the M23 militia and its powerful backer, Rwanda. M23 reigns over a vast territory in eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to lucrative mines and other natural resources. In the major city of Goma, on the border with Rwanda, M23's soldiers now patrol the streets and M23-appointed officials rule the city. Congo's large but inept army has not slowed the group's advance, nor has condemnation by the United Nations Security Council. After months of fighting, the leaders of Congo and Rwanda held talks in Qatar this week and called for an immediate cease-fire. M23 declined to comment on whether it would honor the cease-fire. Last month, The Times traveled to Goma days after its capture by M23. Butembo Democratic Republic of Congo Detail Lake Edward uganda M23's area of influence Rutshuru Goma Rubaya coltan mine RWANDA Lake Kivu Kibuye Bukavu BURUNDI 60 miles Democratic Republic of Congo Lake Edward 60 miles M23's area of influence uganda Rutshuru Rubaya coltan mine Goma Lake Kivu RWANDA Kibuye Bukavu Detail tanzania BURUNDI Note: Data as of March 14 Source: International Peace Information Service By Samuel Granados M23, once a ragtag militia, now behaves like a governing entity in buzzing cities, lucrative coltan and gold mines, and strategic border crossings. Its immigration officers stamp passports, and in a city still scarred by deadly fighting, its leaders have urged young people to join its army so they can 'liberate Congo.' The group has vowed to march on Kinshasa, Congo's capital. That makes M23 and Rwanda a threat to the sovereignty of Congo, the biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa by territory, with more than 100 million people, where millions of people have died in the last three decades in endless wars. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
East DR Congo mines mint Rwanda-backed M23's fortune
Mine shafts snake under the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's mountains, but instead of the Congolese government their rich veins are making a mint for the Rwanda-backed M23. In the tracts of land the M23 has seized following its 2021 resurgence in the eastern DRC, an area mineral-rich yet scarred by decades of conflict, the armed group levies high natural resource taxes. The crown jewel in the M23's expansion is the DRC's largest coltan mine from which the group generates around $800,000 in revenue each month, according to UN experts. Coltan is a mineral from which tantalum, commonly used in electronics such as mobile phones and laptops, is derived. The armed group has controlled the Rubaya mine and surrounding areas of North Kivu province since 2024, setting up its own administration in the areas it has captured. M23-appointed North Kivu governor Bahati Eraston made his first visit recently to the Rubaya mining town, with diggers downing tools after being told to attend a meeting with Eraston. The M23 has launched a recruitment campaign in the area, hoping to draw in people to help it overthrow the government in the DRC's capital Kinshasa -- some 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) to the west. "Where are the young people? Let them come and join us," Eraston said speaking into a microphone. A few dozen young men and women pushed through the crowd to register to the cheers of spectators, although it was difficult to tell if their support was sincere. "My job no longer allows me to support my needs, I have therefore decided to join the M23 to defend my country," Dieu Merci Bahati, an artisanal digger, told AFP. - M23 pseudo-state - The DRC's east is believed to hold between 60 and 80 percent of the world's coltan reserves. With the M23 levying a $7 per kilogram tax on all coltan produced and traded, the mineral is lucrative business for the armed group. Yet this represents only a small fraction of its tax revenues from trade, as the armed group looks to rule the east. In Rubaya the M23 has set up its own administration "similar to that of a state", according to UN experts. They said the group has created a "ministry responsible for the exploitation of minerals", which issues "permits to diggers and economic operators". Since the start of the year, M23 fighters have captured Goma and Bukavu, North and South Kivu's main cities respectively, as part of a lightening offensive. This means that the group now controls all commercial points in the DRC leading to the Rwandan border. The M23 taxes each truck travelling to Rwanda several thousands dollars at the border posts near Goma, according to economic and security sources. The eastern DRC depends largely on products imported from Rwanda. But it also exports agricultural products to Rwanda and other countries in the Great Lakes region. - 'Forced labour' - Sources close to the Congolese government accuse Rwanda of leading a war for control of the region's particularly fertile agricultural land. But the M23 said it has put an end to numerous taxes imposed by pro-Kinshasa armed groups on farmers and transporters that were hindering economic development in the area. Workers at the mine, such as diggers, seem happy to have relative security while at their underground office. Pro-Kinshasa militia "took money and phones from us, but since the M23 came I have never been the victim of an attack", said Grace Mugisha, a digger at Rubaya. But that apparently improved security has brought new sorts of constraints. In all the zones under its control the M23 has imposed "salongo" -- a type of unpaid community service which residents are made to do once a week. For Germain Nkinzo, an M23 leader in Minova, a commercial lake port in South Kivu province, the "salongo" is about instilling "discipline" and "changing mentalities" in order to accelerate economic and social development. But one resident, holding a shovel on her return from the community service, said "development must be the fruit of everyone's will, not forced labour". clt/cld/ayv/keo/sbk/ach
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
East DR Congo mines mint Rwanda-backed M23's fortune
Mine shafts snake under the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's mountains, but instead of the Congolese government their rich veins are making a mint for the Rwanda-backed M23. In the tracts of land the M23 has seized following its 2021 resurgence in the eastern DRC, an area mineral-rich yet scarred by decades of conflict, the armed group levies high natural resource taxes. The crown jewel in the M23's expansion is the DRC's largest coltan mine from which the group generates around $800,000 in revenue each month, according to UN experts. Coltan is a mineral from which tantalum, commonly used in electronics such as mobile phones and laptops, is derived. The armed group has controlled the Rubaya mine and surrounding areas of North Kivu province since 2024, setting up its own administration in the areas it has captured. M23-appointed North Kivu governor Bahati Eraston made his first visit recently to the Rubaya mining town, with diggers downing tools after being told to attend a meeting with Eraston. The M23 has launched a recruitment campaign in the area, hoping to draw in people to help it overthrow the government in the DRC's capital Kinshasa -- some 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) to the west. "Where are the young people? Let them come and join us," Eraston said speaking into a microphone. A few dozen young men and women pushed through the crowd to register to the cheers of spectators, although it was difficult to tell if their support was sincere. "My job no longer allows me to support my needs, I have therefore decided to join the M23 to defend my country," Dieu Merci Bahati, an artisanal digger, told AFP. - M23 pseudo-state - The DRC's east is believed to hold between 60 and 80 percent of the world's coltan reserves. With the M23 levying a $7 per kilogram tax on all coltan produced and traded, the mineral is lucrative business for the armed group. Yet this represents only a small fraction of its tax revenues from trade, as the armed group looks to rule the east. In Rubaya the M23 has set up its own administration "similar to that of a state", according to UN experts. They said the group has created a "ministry responsible for the exploitation of minerals", which issues "permits to diggers and economic operators". Since the start of the year, M23 fighters have captured Goma and Bukavu, North and South Kivu's main cities respectively, as part of a lightening offensive. This means that the group now controls all commercial points in the DRC leading to the Rwandan border. The M23 taxes each truck travelling to Rwanda several thousands dollars at the border posts near Goma, according to economic and security sources. The eastern DRC depends largely on products imported from Rwanda. But it also exports agricultural products to Rwanda and other countries in the Great Lakes region. - 'Forced labour' - Sources close to the Congolese government accuse Rwanda of leading a war for control of the region's particularly fertile agricultural land. But the M23 said it has put an end to numerous taxes imposed by pro-Kinshasa armed groups on farmers and transporters that were hindering economic development in the area. Workers at the mine, such as diggers, seem happy to have relative security while at their underground office. Pro-Kinshasa militia "took money and phones from us, but since the M23 came I have never been the victim of an attack", said Grace Mugisha, a digger at Rubaya. But that apparently improved security has brought new sorts of constraints. In all the zones under its control the M23 has imposed "salongo" -- a type of unpaid community service which residents are made to do once a week. For Germain Nkinzo, an M23 leader in Minova, a commercial lake port in South Kivu province, the "salongo" is about instilling "discipline" and "changing mentalities" in order to accelerate economic and social development. But one resident, holding a shovel on her return from the community service, said "development must be the fruit of everyone's will, not forced labour". clt/cld/ayv/keo/sbk/ach
