Latest news with #CongoGovernment
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congo gold miner says M23 rebels force staff to work without pay
(Reuters) -Gold miner Twangiza Mining SA has accused Rwanda-backed M23 rebels of forcing its employees to work against their will and without pay after seizing its mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. M23 staged a lightning advance earlier this year in eastern Congo, taking control of more land than ever before in North and South Kivu provinces. The Twangiza Mining site is located in South Kivu province. In May, the company said it had been ordered to suspend operations at the mine after M23 accused it of not paying taxes. In a new statement dated Friday, Twangiza Mining, which is headquartered in Congo and describes itself as a Chinese firm, said its workers were being "held in captivity, forced to work in inhuman conditions, without any security measure, remuneration or medical coverage." Reuters could not independently verify the company's assertions. M23 and Congo's government did not respond to requests for comment. The statement from Twangiza Mining also said production had been "paralyzed" and that the site was "entirely controlled" by a group of Rwandan nationals who, working with M23 and claiming to be new investors, have been exploiting the mine "for their own profit by treating our employees like slaves deprived of all protection". Congo, the United Nations and Western powers say Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Yolande Makolo, Rwanda government spokesperson, said on Monday that Rwanda had nothing to do with the dispute with Twangiza Mining. "Rwanda is not involved in this situation, and the accusations against Rwandan citizens are without basis - there is no record or information of any Rwanda citizens involved in such activities," Makolo said. "This is a local issue that should be taken up with the authorities in the area." On Friday, the foreign ministers of Rwanda and Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more so far this year. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration aims to attract billions of dollars in Western investment to Congo, which is rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. Qatar has been hosting talks between Congo and M23.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Rwanda's army and its rebel group ally have killed dozens and abducted thousands, Congo says
Congolese authorities have accused Rwanda 's army and the M23 rebel group it backs of murdering dozens, kidnapping thousands more and committing rape, torture and looting in the war-torn country's east. The alleged crimes were committed between May 10 and 13 against civilians accused by the rebels of belonging to the Congolese army and its allied militias, Congo's interior ministry said in a statement Wednesday. 'The toll includes 107 murders, more than 4,000 men and boys abducted and forcibly loaded onto trucks to an unknown destination, hundreds of cases of summary executions, rape, torture, looting, restrictions on freedom of movement, as well as incursions into health facilities,' the statement read. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the reports. Spokespersons for Rwanda's military and the M23 rebels did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the takeover of the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised fears of a wider regional war. Congo's accusation comes days after M23 presented hundreds of captured men at a stadium in Goma. The group said the captives were Congolese army or members of its allied militias whom Congo armed to foment conflict in order to blame it on M23. M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. The fighting in Congo is linked to Rwanda's decadeslong ethnic conflict. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled to Congo after the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda says the militia group is 'fully integrated' into the Congolese military, which denies it. ————- Banchereau reported from Dakar
