Global Policy Forum

Conflict Looms in Row Over Clandestine Mining of Mineral Riches

By Rory Carroll

Rwanda massed thousands of troops on its border with Congo yesterday as a scramble for mineral wealth risked fresh conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region. A clandestine network of plunder - illegally mining precious metals in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo - has pushed neighbouring Rwanda to the brink of another invasion. Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, said his objective was to wipe out Hutu militants sheltering across the border, but there was evidence of an additional reason: protecting Rwanda's riches. Congolese rebel groups loyal to Rwanda are vying to keep control of mineral-rich areas in North and South Kivu provinces, which provide lucrative income to the elite in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

In the towns of Walikale and Rubaya soldiers of the Rassemblement Congolais Pour la Démocratie, or RCD-Goma, Rwanda's proxy force in eastern Congo, transferred sacks of the minerals cassiterite and tantalite to lorries bound for airstrips from which jets shuttled to Kigali. Those shipments were threatened by the expanding reach of militias and army units which are hostile to Rwanda and owe allegiance to the Congo's rulers. RCD-Goma troops and the civilian miners they oversee said commanders had been told to tighten security, apparently at the behest of worried bosses in Kigali. 'Kagame has a dual agenda. Rwanda has major economic interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo,' said Corene Crossin, of Global Witness, an advocacy group which has tracked the plunder of the region.

Rwanda invaded its giant neighbour in 1996 and 1998, with the stated aim of crushing Hutu militants who fled over the border after killing more than half a million Tutsis in the 1994 genocide. More than three million people were killed in the war that followed the second invasion, and the United Nations accused Rwanda and other occupying powers of plundering Congo's minerals. The foreign armies withdrew last year under peace accords that installed an interim government in Kinshasa, but left proxy forces such as RCD-Goma still controlling territory.

Rwanda said last week that Hutu remnants were mobilising in Congo's forests and, in the absence of action from Kinshasa or the UN, it was obliged to respond. 'We cannot simply be punching balls for these criminals,' said Kagame. 'The war is already on. Otherwise, what would the bases be doing in Congo?' Officials in Kigali said 'genocidaires' sporting fresh uniforms paid for by Hutu sympathisers in Europe had launched rocket attacks against villages in northern Rwanda. They feared a low-level, destabilising insurgency. The UN said no rocket attacks had been verified, and Kinshasa said there had been no incursions. Rwanda was hiding 'its real intentions - to loot Congo's riches', said Henri Mova Sakanyi, a Congolese government spokesman. One Western diplomat said Rwanda had legitimate concerns about the Hutu militants, but its sabre-rattling 'had to be taken with a pinch of salt'.

A Global Witness report earlier this year detailed how a Congo desk in Rwanda's Defence Ministry had set up 'a highly efficient network' with RCD-Goma to exploit tantalite - used in mobile phones and laptops - and cassiterite, a form of tin. The minerals were shipped on to Europe in twice-weekly flights, which are common knowledge among aid workers and UN officials, but 'if you value your security, you don't ask questions about this subject', said one witness. The miners of Rubaya use shovels and plastic bowls to mine about 100 kilos of tantalite a week, said one miner. The mining of cassiterite in Walikale has made the town a battleground for the RCD-Goma and the Congolese Mayi-Mayi militia.

Damian Lilly, of Medécins Sans Frontií¨res, one of the few aid agencies working in the area, said half of the town's population had fled and it was vulnerable to such diseases as cholera. Five-year-old Bertha Ngongo was lucky. Forced to flee into the bush with no food, her mother Josephine got the malnourished girl to hospital in time to save her life. 'This war just goes on and on,' the mother said wearily.

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