At least 200 people were killed last week after a landslide destroyed multiple mining sites at a major coltan mining area in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to rebel authorities on Saturday.
The deadly collapse occurred on Wednesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by fighters from the M23 rebel group.
The landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall, said Lumumba Kamberi Moïse, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province, in comments to the Associated Press.
Moïse said that more than 200 bodies have been confirmed so far, with some victims still buried in the mud and yet to be recovered.
Several others were injured and taken to three medical facilities in the town of Rubaya. Ambulances were expected to transfer the wounded on Saturday to Goma, the nearest major city located about 50 kilometres away.
The rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu has temporarily suspended mining operations at the site and ordered the relocation of residents who had built shelters near the mines, Moïse added.
Rubaya lies at the heart of eastern DR Congo, a mineral-rich region in central Africa that has been plagued for decades by violence involving government forces and numerous armed groups.
The M23 movement, which is backed by Rwanda, has recently intensified its operations, further escalating the conflict and worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis.
According to the United Nations, M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups competing for control of eastern DR Congo’s vast mineral resources.
The fighting has displaced more than six million people across the region, making it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
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