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• Congolese army, rebels in joint mining

Congolese army, rebels in joint mining

INSTEAD of war, the Democratic Republic of Congo army and rebels are collaborating to mine gold and tin, the lobby group Global Witness has said.

The group's researchers found that both parties operated their own mines and even traded with each other.
Global Witness said that Congolese soldiers reportedly have been selling weapons and uniforms to the mainly Hutu FDLR.

"This complicity extends to the exploitation of minerals," said the group's director, Patrick Alley.
"Our researchers visited areas where the FARDC [DR Congo army] and the FDLR were operating side by side, each controlling their own territories, trading in minerals from 'their' respective mines without interfering with each other's activities. They depend on this mutual support to continue their trade," he said.

The Congolese army, backed by the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, are supposed to wipe out the FDLR rebels, accused of participating in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Twice, Rwanda has sent troops into DRC to forestall FDLR incursion.

Global Witness said that the FDLR's control of gold and tin mines, especially in South Kivu, gives them the money for insurgency.

While the Congolese defence ministry refused comments on the allegations, the deputy Mines Minister Victor Kasongo told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that action would be taken if the allegations are proven. He said the army should have no role in the extraction of minerals.

The UN has 17,000 peacekeepers in DR Congo, supposed to monitor a 2003 peace deal to end a conflict that drew in at least eight other African countries.