US raises concerns over blood minerals in DR Congo
Artisanal miners work at the Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 11, 2016. PHOTO | REUTERS
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the matter of smuggling has been subject of grapevine for years. Then reports after reports began confirming it: Hundreds of rebel groups fighting in the east of the country have remained potent, fuelled by money from smuggled minerals and timber.