Politics

Goma flows the blood

The situation in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo It has now precipitated in a spiral of violence that seems unstoppable. More than 100 people have been killed and almost 1,000 injuries in violent clashes a Goma Among the Congolese Armed Forces and the rebels of theM23, A terrorist group supported by Rwanda. The figures were confirmed to the Associated Press by the hospitals in the area. As we have already told you in recent days, the fighters of the M23, flanked by Rwandan soldiers, entered the main city of the region on Sunday evening, unleashing clashes with the Congolese army and the regional forces and the UN deployed in defense of Kinshasa. The Congolese government has asked for international sanctions against Kigali, denouncing Rwandan support to rebels as “a declaration of war”. The situation is very serious to the point that the international red cross has launched the alarm for the research laboratory on the EBOLA in Goma, fearing that the fights can lead to the escape of virus champions and other pathogens, with potentially devastating consequences that Nobody would be able to manage.

Meanwhile, the escalation of the conflict has triggered protests in the capital Kinshasa. Thousands of demonstrators attacked the embassies of France, Belgium, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. The Italian diplomatic headquarters were not targeted, and Farnesina confirmed that it monitored the situation, remaining in contact with the 15 compatriots still in the country. The EU has condemned the new offensive of the M23, reiterating the need to protect diplomats, in line with the Vienna convention. The international community has also condemned what is happening. The UN denounced “the clear contempt for the sovereignty of the Congo”, while the American secretary of state Marco Rubio expressed support to the Congolese government in a phone call with the president Félix TSHiseKedi. But the convictions and support statements are certainly not afraid of the rebels, which have advanced so much that they take control of Goma airport.

Given the serious situation the World Food Program (Pam) suspended the distribution of aid, further aggravating the humanitarian crisis. The European Commission has announced a package of 60 million euros in humanitarian aid for 2025, but without political stability, support risks being insufficient: only this year, over 400,000 people were forced to escape from their homes and prospects For their return they are very low.

In an emergency summit, iThe Council of Peace and Security of the African Union He urged the M23 to lay down the weapons and to look for a diplomatic solution. Even the president of Kenya and the community of Eastern Africa, William Ruto, invited TSHisekedi and the Rwandan leader Paul Kagame to listen to the appeal to peace launched by the Region and the international community.

Rich in mining resources that have now become a curse more than a benefit of the population, the eastern area of ​​the Congo has been the scene of conflicts for years between over one hundred armed groups, including the M23, which has taken up its operations in the North Kivu at the end of 2021 We ask Giovanni Brussato Mining and essayist engineer who published books and dozens of scientific articles on the subject.

What interests do you have the rebels?

«There are at stake gold, Coltan, pond and other resources for a value of billions of dollars who are marked through the borders of the Congo. The mining region of Rubaya, where the Coltan mine is located Bibatamais in the territory of Masisiin the North Kivu province. Bibatama alone represents over 15% of the global supply of Tantalio. The mines of the region overall produce about 1,000 tons of Coltan per year represent about half of the total production of the RDC. The main export from the mines is a concentrate of mineral which, in addition to containing about 33% of tantalous oxide and 5% of niobio oxide in weight, also contain about 0.14% of uranium and 0.02% of Torio , which is quite radioactive material to involve significant complications in manipulation ».

Obviously we talk about smuggling

«Yes, the rebels marked at least 150 tons of Coltan in Rwanda Last year, causing the largest contamination of the mineral supply chain of the Region of large lakes ever recorded. In December 2023, the ITSCI suspended the mining operations in the territory of Masisi following the taking of control by the rebels of the M23 of the transport route of the minerals between Masisi and Goma. There Société miniere de bisunzU (SMB) which formally controls the concessions of the Bibatama mine had started with RCS Global, a Berlin company that controls the supply chains, a project that provided for traceability, through bar codes, of the bags of Tantalio. With a portable device connected to a server in the cloud, the scan of the bar code, loaded into the databases including the weight of the sealed envelope, when it was labeled and by whom. A way to hinder smugglers ».

Now do the rebels at which mines point?

«The mining city of Lumbishi, in the province of South Kivu and also Numbi, an oriental mining area in South Kivu rich in gold, tourmaline and tin, tantalio and tungsten, recently has recently been captured. The alphaamin Resources mine mine at risk, which in 2023 represented 4.5% of global tin production, is located about 180 km west of Goma. Lumbishi in south Kivu with its gold mines is likely to be a significant source of revenue for the M23, because gold is much easier to monetize than Coltan and Stagno. Through the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, the yellow metal is merged and integrated into legal gold sales operations, making it indispensable and ready for markets in Europe, in the United States “. Finally, it should be remembered that we are talking about a territory sadly known also to the Italian news: on February 22, 2021, precisely in this region, the Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio, the carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed in an attack on a UN convoy. A story never clarified that has however closed with an extrajudicial economic agreement between the parties.