|
Listen to article
|
Congolese government forces struck a coltan mining site controlled by M23 rebels in the country’s eastern region Wednesday, deploying drones against positions held by the Rwanda-backed group near the town of Rubaya, according to security sources.
The assault targeted areas around Rubaya, where M23 fighters had been hit by a drone strike the day before, local and security sources said. Rubaya’s mine accounts for 15 to 30 percent of global coltan output, a mineral essential for manufacturing laptops and mobile phones.
M23 has held the Rubaya mine since April 2024, when it captured the site with Rwandan support.
The group re-emerged in 2021 after years of dormancy and has since seized large portions of North Kivu province, a mineral-rich territory that has been contested for more than three decades by rival armed factions and external powers.
The rebels launched an offensive in December targeting Uvira, a town in South Kivu province near the Burundian border. That assault drew criticism from Washington, which has mediated a fragile truce between Kinshasa and Kigali. Angola, another intermediary, proposed a ceasefire to begin February 18, though fighting has persisted.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Wednesday for a halt to hostilities and a “lasting political solution” in eastern Congo. “France fully supports mediation efforts for a lasting political solution in the Great Lakes region, the cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire, and respect for the authority of the state and the territorial integrity of the DRC,” he wrote on X.
Local militias fighting alongside Congolese soldiers attacked multiple points along the front line in North Kivu on Wednesday, particularly in Masisi, where Rubaya is located, sources said.
These militias seized the village of Kazinga, roughly 20 kilometers northwest of Rubaya, according to the same sources.
UN experts have reported that M23 established a parallel administrative structure to oversee Rubaya’s mining operations after seizing control. “In central Rubaya, people are terrified. I went to see the place where the drone struck, but access was denied,” a resident told AFP on Tuesday, asking not to be identified.
Casualty figures from the strike could not be verified. Phone networks in the area have been down since Tuesday, and Congolese officials and civil society groups evacuated when M23 arrived.
Fighting was also reported Wednesday in the South Kivu highlands, where the Congolese army clashed with a coalition of militias aligned with M23.
Read also: UK Restricts DR Congo Visas Over Migrant Returns
Kinshasa’s forces have struggled on the ground against better-equipped M23 fighters and Rwandan troops. Regional specialists and security sources told AFP the government has leaned partly on U.S. pressure on Kigali to stabilize the front. They also said Kinshasa has gained some control of the skies using long-range Chinese and Turkish drones, along with assistance from foreign paramilitaries.
Congo’s mineral-rich east has been the site of persistent violence since the 1990s, driven by competition over resources including gold, tin, tungsten and coltan.
Dozens of armed groups operate across the region, some with backing from neighboring states. Rwanda has denied supporting M23 despite evidence presented by UN investigators and Western governments.
The current phase of fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands and worsened an already dire humanitarian situation. Aid organizations have warned that access to affected populations remains severely constrained, with supply routes frequently disrupted by combat.
Read more: Humanitarian Grounds: DR Congo Rebels Call Temporary Truce
Mediation efforts have yielded limited results. Previous ceasefires brokered by Angola and other regional actors have collapsed within days or weeks. The United States has imposed sanctions on individuals linked to M23 and threatened further measures against entities supporting the group.
Macron’s statement Wednesday marked France’s latest public call for de-escalation. Paris has maintained a diplomatic presence in the region and has urged Rwandan President Paul Kagame to withdraw support for M23, though Kigali continues to deny direct involvement.
The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of fueling instability to gain access to minerals extracted from territories controlled by M23.
Kigali has countered that Kinshasa works with armed groups hostile to Rwanda, including forces linked to perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Rubaya’s coltan has become a focal point in the conflict. Control of the mine provides significant revenue for whoever holds it. UN experts have documented how M23 taxes mining operations and regulates trade in the area, effectively governing economic activity without interference from Congolese authorities.
Kinshasa has not disclosed how many drones it has deployed or provided details on the foreign personnel assisting its military operations.
Regional security sources said the involvement of external advisers and equipment has allowed government forces to contest M23’s advances more effectively than in previous years, though the group retains territorial gains made since 2021.
