US raises concerns over blood minerals in DR Congo
Artisanal miners work at the Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 11, 2016. PHOTO | REUTERS
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the matter of smuggling has been subject of grapevine for years. Then reports after reports began confirming it: Hundreds of rebel groups fighting in the east of the country have remained potent, fuelled by money from smuggled minerals and timber.
This week, the United States of America weighed in, raising concerns that that trade is making it difficult to tame the arms flow into the battlefield.
