M23 rebels seize DRC's mineral-rich Rubaya town

The M23 rebel group has seized Rubaya, a mining town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) known for producing a key mineral used in smartphones, the group said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the M23 rebel group said on Thursday that the town was "liberated."

The Congolese army declined to comment on the situation.

The town of Rubaya in the Masisi district holds deposits of tantalum, which is extracted from coltan, a key component in the production of smartphones.

It is among the minerals that was named earlier this month in a letter from the DRC government questioning Apple about the tech company’s knowledge of "blood minerals" being smuggled in its supply chain.

The decades-long conflict in eastern DRC has produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with some 120 armed groups fighting for control of the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda.

Many groups are accused of carrying out mass killings, rapes and other human rights violations. The violence has displaced about 7 million people, many beyond the reach of aid.

"The fall of Rubaya is in a way the embodiment of this systemic plundering," Ernest Singoma, a civil society activist in Goma, told the the AP news agency.

There has been an upsurge in fighting in recent months between M23 rebels and DRC army forces, and it comes as the United Nations plans to withdraw peacekeepers from the region by the end of the year.

John Banyene, a civil society activist, told the AP that the rebels were advancing towards the town of Goma, which is eastern DRC's largest city and the capital of North Kivu province.

"All the supply routes to the city are blocked," said Banyene."We are just getting by."

'M23 may exploit mineral resources'

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi alleges Rwanda is destabilising his country by backing the M23 rebels. UN experts, along with the US State Department, have also accused Rwanda of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies the claims.

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron called on neighbouring Rwanda to halt its support for the M23 rebel group during a joint press conference with CRD President Tshisekedi in Paris.

Onesphore Sematumba, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the capture of Rubaya was a significant development in the conflict.

"Rubaya has mining deposits and without doubt this will allow M23 to exploit them," he told the AP.

The March 23 Movement, or M23, is a rebel military group mainly made up of ethnic Tutsis that broke away from the DRC army just over a decade ago.

They staged a large offensive in 2012 and took over the provincial capital of Goma near the border with Rwanda, the same city they are threatening again.