(Bloomberg) -- M23 rebels appear to be planning a long-term occupation of mineral-rich territories in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, United Nations experts warned in a report released Wednesday.
Since April, M23 has been seizing Congolese towns with the help of Rwandan forces and setting up parallel government administrations to control key mines and trade routes, according to the report. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, and says it’s committed to a cease-fire and peace talks with Congo.
The conquest continues “despite the truce and cease-fire, suggesting that M23’s true objective remained territorial expansion, and long-term occupation and exploitation of conquered territories,” the experts said in interim findings presented to the UN Security Council.
Since M23 re-launched a rebellion in 2021, conflict in eastern Congo has reached a level of violence not seen in more than a decade. It’s displaced millions and undermined years of effort to cut the link between armed groups and the trade in minerals like tin and tantalum that are essential for portable electronics.
M23 took control of one of the world’s biggest coltan mines in April and is making millions shipping minerals to Rwanda for export, according to the report.
“Fraudulent extraction, trade and export to Rwanda” benefited both the M23 “and the Rwandan economy,” the experts wrote. The trafficking from the area, known as Africa’s Great Lakes, represents “the largest contamination of mineral supply chains in the Great Lakes Region recorded to date,” according to the report.
The M23 has established a “ministry” responsible for mineral exploitation that provides permits to diggers and traders and has doubled the wages of diggers to convince them to continue to work the mines, the experts said.
As a result the M23 “controlled the trade and transport of around 120 tons of coltan monthly.” In 2023, Congo and Rwanda mined about 1,500 tons of tantalum, which is extracted from coltan, representing about 63% of world production, according to the US Geological Survey.
The US and EU both have conflict-mineral laws requiring many companies to monitor their supply chains from the region.
Last month Congo sued Apple Inc. in Belgium and France for allegedly buying minerals from Rwanda that had been “pillaged” from Congo. Apple disputed the charges and said it asked its suppliers to stop sourcing minerals from the area.
At least 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan troops are deployed in eastern Congo, according to the report, and “every M23 unit was supervised and supported by RDF special forces.”
Rwanda’s army has used GPS jamming equipment to block drones from monitoring their positions, which has also affected UN, humanitarian and commercial flights, the experts said.
Rwanda’s government and the M23 did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment.
The M23 says it’s fighting for the rights of Congolese Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in the country.
The rebels are also forming alliances with other armed groups in eastern Congo, according to the report. More than 100 militias are active in the region, which is also rich in gold.
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