More than 200 dead in landslides at rebel-controlled mine in DR Congo

At least 200 people were killed earlier this week when heavy rains triggered a series of catastrophic landslides at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The site has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024.

"It rained, a landslide followed, and it swept people away. Some were swallowed up, others died in the wells. Many are still trapped inside," said miner Franck Bolingo.

A spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, said the victims include “miners, children and market women”.

He added that at least 20 injured people are being treated, some in local health facilities, while others will be transferred to Goma, the nearest city around 50 kilometres away.

With search and rescue operations still continuing, officials say the death toll is expected to rise.

Muyisa said the governor has temporarily halted artisanal mining on the site and ordered the relocation of residents who had built shelters near the mine.

Rubaya produces about 15 per cent of the world’s coltan which is processed into a hard metal used notably to make smartphones, computers, and aircraft engines.

The United Nations says M23 has plundered the mine’s riches to help fund its insurgency

Rubaya lies in the heart of mineral-rich eastern DRC which for decades has been ripped apart by violence between government forces and different armed groups.

Since its resurgence in 2021, the M23 group has taken vast tracts of the eastern DRC.

Despite a US-brokered deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments and Kinshasa’s ongoing negotiations with the rebels, fighting continues on several fronts in the region.