The seizure occurred on Monday, without fighting, and although there is an apparent calm in the region, the situation remains tense, Actualite.CD reported.

The M23 targets Walikale, a mineral-rich region where the headquarters of the Alpha Mines company is located.

Since May 2024, the armed group has been in control of Rubaya, in Masisi territory, an enclave considered the economic lung of the mining sector in North Kivu in terms of incomes, as it provides 50 percent of the country’s coltan production, in addition to manganese, cassiterite, and tourmaline.

If its advance on Walikale continues, the armed group will be left with greater resources under its power to finance the war, something that Bintou Keita, head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in DRC, warned last year.

He commented that from Rubaya alone, they obtain an estimated 300,000 dollars a month.

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