US-Congo minerals deal won’t bring peace, says rebel leader

A minerals partnership with the US won’t help to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, says the political leader of rebel groups vying for control over parts of the African nation.Speaking to the Associated Press over the weekend, rebel leader Corneille Nangaa said “we will fight like people who got nothing to lose in order to secure the future of our country,” referring to the insurgence of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that has so far captured two major cities in the east.In January, M23 took over the city of Goma, a regional hub that is said to house trillions of dollars in untapped mineral wealth, in what was an escalation of one of the longest wars in Africa. In the following month, it seized a second major city in Bukavu.In an effort to end the decades-long conflict, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has offered to partner up with the US by dangling its rich mineral reserves, which include cobalt, lithium and uranium, in exchange for America’s firepower. The minerals-for-security deal, as of now, is in its “early stages,” Congo’s foreign minister recently said.Nangaa, who leads the Congolese rebel coalition that includes the M23, dismissed the proposed US-Congo minerals deal to AP reporters, stating that “this problem can be better resolved by the concerned Congolese, not foreigners with different geopolitical agendas.”“Trying to bribe US with mines can undermine US credibility,” he added.The rebel leader also rejected the positive outcome of last week’s meeting between Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Qatar, stating that “such a move to achieve peace without his group’s involvement would fail.”Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com