REBELS in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are earning around $300,000 a month in production taxes after seizing control of the Rubaya coltan mining region, according to a report by Reuters.
The newswire cited the comments of Bintou Keita, head of the United Nations mission in Congo to the organisation’s Security Council in which he said the M23 movement, a Tutsi-led organization purportedly backed by Rwanda, had seized the area. This was following intense fighting in April.
Trade from minerals in the Rubaya area accounts for over 15% of global tantalum supply, said Reuters. Congo is the world’s top producer of tantalum which is considered a critical mineral by the United States and the European Union, the newswire said.
“This generates an estimated $300,000 in revenue per month to the armed group,” Keita said. “This is deeply concerning and needs to be stopped.”
“The criminal laundering of the DRC’s natural resources smuggled out of the country is strengthening armed groups, sustaining the exploitation of civilian populations, some of them reduced to de-facto slavery, and undermining peace-making efforts,” Keita added.
The majority of Congo’s mineral resources are situated in the east, a region plagued by conflict over land and resources between several armed factions. The situation has deteriorated since the resurgence of the M23 rebellion in March 2022, said Reuters.
Keita said that as profits from mining have surged, armed groups have become militarised entrepreneurs, making them stronger both militarily and financially. “Unless international sanctions are imposed on those benefiting from this criminal trade, peace will remain elusive, and civilians will continue to suffer,” Keita said.
Manufacturers are under scrutiny to ensure that metals used in products such as laptops and batteries for electric vehicles are not sourced from conflict zones like eastern Congo, said Reuters.
