The eternal war in the Congo that is fueled by every mobile phone sold in the world

Barcelona"I am no longer in Goma since my employment. I am ready to spend some time away from my family and loved ones," explains Steward Muhindo, a Congolese researcher, to ARA. The troops of the M23, the guerrilla group that has been operating in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2012, They occupied Goma at the end of JanuaryThis is a key moment in their latest campaign against the Congolese government, which has been underway since March 2022 and has allowed them to consolidate their dominance of territories rich in gold, coltan and other natural resources.

On Sunday, The M23 captured Bukavu, a city 200 km south of GomaThe capture of Goma three weeks ago resulted in 2,900 deaths and, according to the UN, the conflict has generated more than 6 million displaced people. Muhindo, an activist with the pro-democracy group LUCHA, fled Goma for fear of reprisals and is now in a neighbouring country. "For months, denouncing the crimes and the war of the M23 has brought us constant threats," he says. In some cases, such as that of the young activist Pierre Byamungu Katema on 12 February, the attacks have ended in murder.

How is the M23 financed?

According to the information of United Nations experts on the ground, The G7 and the United States governmentThe M23 has logistical and financial support from neighbouring Rwanda. The latest UN report estimates that there are between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, concluding: "Each M23 unit is supervised by special forces from the Rwandan Defence Forces (Rwandan army)."

Control of the Rubaya mines has allowed 120 tons of coltan to flow to Rwanda each month, and M23 officials have doubled the miners' wages to increase production. The M23 earns "at least $800,000 a month" from this business, according to the UN. The road between Congo and Rwanda along which these minerals pass has recently been under construction: it had to be made wider to accommodate the trucks that carry the coltan to Rwanda.

A conflict with many layers

Jimmy Kande is a Congolese banker turned anti-corruption activist, and has coordinated a coalition of actors to combat it through the platform Congo is not available (Congo is not for sale.) Kande explains that it is difficult to find a single culprit for the situation: "It is a complex combination of economic, historical and geopolitical factors. Rwanda and Uganda support armed groups; the Congolese government is not able to maintain security in a territory where more than 100 armed groups operate," he says. And he indicates who he believes are the main beneficiaries of this situation: "The war in Congo is driven by the illegal exploitation of strategic minerals, such as coltan, gold and cobalt, which benefits both international companies and local and foreign criminal networks."

The situation that Kande describes creates a paradox in the coltan sector: although Congo produces more coltan than Rwanda each year, it is Rwanda that earns the most money from exports of this mineral. A situation that is repeated with gold, which in just a few years has become Rwanda's main export even though it does not have large reserves on its territory. "The M23 and other armed groups are active in gold-rich regions, in North Kivu and in Ituri. They facilitate logistics and exports to Rwanda, where Congolese gold is refined and integrated into legal channels before being sold to the world," adds Kande.

The EU's role in the plundering of minerals

While the Congolese were suffering from the advance of the M23, a delegation of six people led by President Etienne Tshisekedi attended the Davos forum at the end of January. The Swiss press reported on the expenses in a five-star hotel, where the Congolese delegation spent more than 460,000 dollars. The news does not surprise Stewart Muhindo, the exiled activist: "For the president and his entourage, Congo is more a source of enrichment than a country to govern." Muhindo also criticises the European Union, which signed a mineral supply agreement with Rwanda a year ago: "They are hypocrites. How can they know that minerals bought in Rwanda are not looted in Congo? Where are democratic values if they support a state that violates another's territory and silences its own citizens?"

Relations with Rwanda also have an energy consequence for the EU. On 18 November last year, the European Council financed with 20 million euros Rwandan army, present in Mozambique, to protect the French company Total's liquefied natural gas project from Islamist attacks. A spokesman for the European Commission, when asked about the validity of the agreement, replied that they were following the situation in the region "with deep concern" and that the Commission would not support specific investments in the processing of minerals of uncertain origin.

China's influence

Another influential player in the Congo conflict is China. The country's position in the UN Security Council was to call for a cessation of hostilities by all sides, along with the withdrawal of troops from the occupied territories. Beijing is the largest buyer of coltan in the region, which is used to make mobile phone batteries. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2024 China bought 2,300 tons of coltan in Rwanda and 1,000 tons in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Congo earned 54 million dollars; Rwanda, double that: 108 million dollars. Two grains of sand next to smartphone sales. from China: 132 billion dollars to support a mobile industry that, according to the GSMA - the organizer of the MWC in Barcelona - generated $5.7 trillion in added value in 2023.