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A mining area in Rubaya, a region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s eastern province, collapsed following a landslide triggered by heavy rains on Tuesday, killing about 200 people, including 70 children, according to the government in a statement.
It blamed the tragedy on the M23 armed group, which it said was allowing illegal mining without proper safety standards.
“The provisional toll counts more than 200 compatriots who lost their lives, including 70 children and numerous wounded,” the statement read in part.
Rubaya, the affected region, is the DRC’s biggest source of coltan, accounting for about 15% of the world’s coltan supply and half of the DR Congo’s total deposits.
DRC has been engulfed by conflicts over the years, but the most recent one ensued in 2012 between the DRC military and the M23, a group of rebels who were formerly members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). It ended briefly following the rebel group’s defeat by the Congolese army.
The group resurfaced in 2023 and seized towns in eastern DRC, including Rubaya, escalating tensions with neighbouring Rwanda, which the DRC accuses of backing the rebels. Rwanda has, however, consistently denied these claims.
