Deadly landslide strikes M23 held mining site in DRC
Africa
By
AFP
| Jan 31, 2026
A series of landslides struck a militia-held mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, burying people alive and killing several, the governor and witnesses told AFP on Friday.
Since its resurgence in 2021, the M23 group has taken vast tracts of the DRC's resource-rich east, capturing the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province in April 2024 with Rwanda's help.
Scavengers said part of a hillside in the Rubaya mining zone collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. A second landslide struck on Thursday morning.
"It rained, then the landslide followed and swept people away. Some were buried and others are still in the pits," freelance miner Franck Bolingo told AFP.
READ MORE
French aid worker killed in DR Congo air strike
Rwanda hits back at US sanctions over M23 support in DR Congo
US slaps sanctions on Rwanda military over DR Congo 'violation'
DR Congo, M23 fighters trade accusations over ceasefire
Angola proposes new DR Congo ceasefire
South Africa to withdraw troops from UN mission in DR Congo
Kipyegon among super-fast stars invited for Sirikwa Classic XC tour
DR Congo city residents forced to adapt during year of M23 rule
South Korean ex-PM Han gets 23 years jail for martial law role
Eraston Bahati Musanga, the M23‑appointed governor of North Kivu province, told AFP the slide had been deadly.
"Some bodies have been found," he said, without giving an exact number but suggesting it could be significant.
AFP was unable to independently verify a toll.
"There was a landslide on Wednesday when I was in a pit looking for minerals," said Olivier Zinzabakwira, adding that he narrowly escaped.
Dozens of scavengers were still shovelling away at the vast site on Friday, AFP video showed.
Dressed in tank tops and rubber boots for some of the better equipped, men and women continued to sift through the pits, despite the danger.
The Rubaya mine produces 15 to 30 percent of the world's supply of coltan, key to making of electronics like laptops and mobile phones.
According to United Nations experts, the M23 has set up an administration parallel to the Congolese state to regulate the operation of the Rubaya mine since its capture.
The experts estimate that the M23 makes around $800,000 a month from the mine thanks to a seven-dollars-a-kilo tax on the production and sale of coltan.
The UN experts also accuse Rwanda -- which denies providing the M23 with military support -- of using the militia to syphon off the DRC's mineral riches.
Besides containing between 60 to 80 percent of the world's coltan, the wider eastern DRC is also home to vast reserves of gold and tin.
Several international mining firms have temporarily halted their operations in the east as a result of the M23's advance.