DR Congo launches drone strikes on M23 at key coltan mine

DR Congo government forces launched a major attack on the M23 rebel group in the east, using drones to strike a key mining site near Rubaya, North Kivu.

The Rubaya mine, captured by M23 with Rwanda’s support in April 2024, produces up to 30 percent of the world’s coltan, a mineral vital for electronics like laptops and smartphones.

Since its resurgence in 2021, M23 has seized large swaths of the DRC’s resource-rich east, fueling a conflict that has lasted over three decades.

Recent fighting also hit South Kivu, where M23-allied militias battled Congolese troops near Uvira, a strategic town close to Burundi.

Local militias joined Congolese forces in North Kivu, especially around Masisi, to push back the rebels. UN experts report M23 has even set up a parallel administration to control Rubaya’s operations.

Despite ceasefire proposals from Angola and diplomatic pressure from the United States, hostilities continue, leaving residents in terror as drone strikes and clashes intensify across the region.