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More than 400 people have died for a landslide in a coltan mine from the town of Rubaya, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of them are women and children who work irregularly in this mine.
It is a mine exploited by the M23 rebels, an armed group made up of Tutsis supported by Rwanda, which wants to take complete control of the country’s minerals and finance itself with the money obtained from their sale.
In fact, the country has he 74% of the world’s cobalt and 80% of all coltan, essential for manufacturing batteries for electronic devices.
The collapse occurred last Thursday after it rained on that mine, located in the Mupfuni Kibabi chiefdom, Masisi territory, in the province of North Kivu, an area under the control of the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) in which rescue efforts continue.
“We have already exceeded 400 deaths, including artisanal miners and merchants, coming not only from Masisi, but also from surrounding territories and even neighboring countries, who come to work here. Therefore, the tragedy is enormous,” he declared by telephone to Efe Telesphore Nitendike, president of the Masisi civil society.
“We are advancing search and rescue operations little by little with the available resources. Thus, it’s difficult“, underlined Nitendi.
While Congolese are buried in Rubaya, @PatrickMuyaya prefers to exploit tragedy. Neither truth, nor justice, nor even official solidarity – yet these tragedies are frequent in Congo and often ignored by the government of which he is the spokesperson. pic.twitter.com/hQlMxpRGAD
— The @@manga_bobo) February 3, 2026
The civil society leader regretted that the area occupied by the M23 rebelssupported by the Rwandan Army (according to the UN and several Western countries), is not being administered, which makes it difficult to organize relief efforts.
“People come from all over to look for their loved ones as best they can, without resources or equipment,” Nitendi emphasized, calling for international help to rescue those affected and help recover bodies buried under the mud and rubble.
Ngendu Mwaburawho served as administrative head of Mupfuni Kibabi until he was removed by the M23, although he still resides in the area, also confirmed to Efe that “yesterday we had more than 300 deaths, and today, provisionally, more than 400.”
They ask for help
“The international community must help us, since These bodies need to be buried to prevent the spread of disease,” asserted Mwabura, who said that the help of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) has been requested.
“But we have not received it (MOUSCO assistance) yet,” he added.
In a statement published this Saturday, the Congolese Government offered its condolences to the families of the victims and denounced an “organized system of looting and illegal exploitation” of natural resources by the M23.
The Executive recalled that, before the rebels took control of the area, the Government had classified it as “red”.
“This classification,” he remarked, imposes the prohibition of all activities of exploitation and commercialization of mineral substancesincluding artisanal mining. Therefore, the excavation activities carried out at this site constitute a flagrant violation of the law and do not respect any safety regulations.”
In a statement issued this Sunday, the Alliance River Congo-March 23 Movement (AFC/M23), a coalition led by the M23, replied that, “instead of politicizing a deeply human tragedy in Rubaya, caused by exceptional weather conditions, the regime should take responsibility for its repeated failures” in regulating the mining sector.
The conflict in eastern Congo worsened at the end of January 2025, when the M23 took control of Goma, capital of North Kivu; and, weeks later, from Bukavu, capital of neighboring South Kivu, after fighting with the Congolese Army.