Congo Demands International Embargo on Rwandan Mineral Exports
- Mines ministry says Rwanda using rebel group to steal minerals
- M23 runs major mine for tantalum, used in portable electronics
Workers sort extracted tungsten minerals at a mining facility in Burera District, Rwanda.
Photographer: Cyril Ndegeya/Xinhua/Getty Images
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Democratic Republic of Congo called for an international embargo of metal exports from neighboring Rwanda, whose government it accuses of using rebel groups to steal its natural resources.
All mining products from Rwanda should be considered “blood minerals,” because their sale allegedly supports conflict in eastern Congo, Mines Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said in a May 8 statement released on Tuesday. “All stakeholders, including end consumers of mining products,” should commit to a responsible supply chain, and “an embargo be decreed against Rwanda,” she said.