The incident occurred on Saturday, at the Kalando copper-cobalt mine in Mulondo, located in Lualaba province.

According to Roy Kaumba Mayonde, Lualaba’s provincial interior minister, at least 32 bodies have so far been recovered.

However, a government agency report suggests the death toll may be as high as 40, indicating that more victims could be missing.

The bridge that collapsed was a makeshift structure, built for miners to cross a rain-flooded trench at the mine.

Heavy rainfall and a risk of landslide had led to a formal ban on access to the site, but many “wildcat” (informal) miners forced their way in despite the dangers.

According to SAEMAPE (the DRC’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service), panic broke out among the miners after soldiers reportedly fired shots near the site.

The panic prompted a mass rush onto the narrow bridge, causing it to collapse; victims “piled on top of each other,” leading to many deaths.

The Kalando mine has been at the center of a longstanding dispute: wildcat miners (informal diggers) are in tension with a cooperative that was meant to organize them, as well as with the legal operators of the mine — reportedly with Chinese involvement.

Over 10,000 informal miners are said to work at the site, according to the National Human Rights Commission’s provincial coordinator.

Human rights organizations are calling for an independent investigation, particularly into the role of the military at the site, given that the reported gunfire may have triggered the deadly collapse.

The tragedy underscores the wider dangers of artisanal mining in the DRC: many miners lack safety equipment, and unregulated operations are common.

The DRC is a major global supplier of cobalt, essential for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, laptops, and phones.

The mining sector in the DRC has long been criticized for unsafe working conditions, child labor, and corruption.

This incident is a stark reminder of the high human cost behind parts of the global supply chain, especially in the cobalt sector.

The combination of informal mining, lack of infrastructure, and military presence raises serious questions about regulation, safety, and accountability. The call for an independent investigation is likely to intensify, especially as the final death toll remains uncertain.

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This comes in the wake of renewed violence that erupted in eastern Congo in January, heightening fears of a wider regional conflict.

The agreement has raised hopes for a de-escalation of the crisis.

Each party released its own statement after their respective delegations departed Qatar earlier this week, following more than a week of discussions.

“Both sides affirm their commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities, reject all forms of hate speech and threats, and call on their communities to uphold these commitments,” the statements read.

According to a joint communiqué, the talks were described as transparent and constructive, though it remains unclear when the next round of negotiations will take place.

The M23 group has seized two major towns in eastern Congo, and the resulting violence has led to the deaths of thousands.

These Qatar-mediated peace efforts follow a high-level meeting last month between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which was also facilitated by the Gulf nation.

The two leaders called for a ceasefire after their talks.

This latest dialogue appears to be laying the groundwork for direct negotiations between the Congolese government and M23—a group that Kinshasa has long refused to recognize as a legitimate negotiating party, labeling it a terrorist organization.

Rwanda, for its part, has consistently denied supporting the M23 rebels.

Why Is There a Conflict in Congo?

The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is deeply rooted in regional instability, historical grievances, and competition over natural resources.

The M23 rebel group, composed largely of Tutsi fighters, emerged from the remnants of a previous rebel movement and claims to defend the rights of Congolese Tutsis.

However, the group has been accused of war crimes, including massacres and forced displacement of civilians.

The DRC has long accused neighboring Rwanda of backing M23 as a proxy to exert influence over mineral-rich regions in eastern Congo—a claim Rwanda has repeatedly denied.

The area is home to vast deposits of gold, coltan, and other valuable resources, fueling both internal and external power struggles.

Decades of conflict, weak governance, and a lack of trust between regional powers have made peace elusive.

Now some regional observers say the involvement of international actors like Qatar now brings cautious optimism that diplomacy could replace violence as the primary means of resolving disputes in the region.

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The rebels have been trying to push south towards Bukavu since they seized Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, at the end of last month.

The capture of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under the M23’s control and deal a further blow to Kinshasa’s authority in the east.

“The city of Bukavu can no longer hold,” a civil society source in Bukavu said.

Two people who work at the airport, mostly used for NGO and military flights, told Reuters earlier on Friday that it had been effectively closed. Congolese forces had already removed equipment including drones and military aircraft.

A spokesperson for the rebel alliance that includes M23 said in a post on X that the rebels were in control of the airport, and surrounding areas. A member of the civil security service confirmed that to Reuters, while a U.N. source, a diplomatic source and an M23 source earlier said the rebels had reached the airport.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi meanwhile was seeking international support to help end the crisis. He flew to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, the presidency said in a statement on social media on Friday. A source at the presidency said he would head to Addis Ababa on Friday evening to attend the African Union summit on Saturday.

The conflict will be high on the agenda at the annual two-day meeting in the Ethiopian capital.

The U.N. refugee agency voiced concern on Friday at the “rapidly deteriorating” situation, saying the war had left around 350,000 displaced people with no roof over their heads.

GUNFIRE IN KAVUMU

In a video shot in Kavumu by a local resident and seen by Reuters, men in military fatigues are seen walking through town while gunfire can be heard.

Earlier on Friday, rebels seized the town of Katana, 11 km (7 miles) from Kavumu where the airport is located, three sources said.

A video taken by a Katana resident also showed armed men also walking through that town.

“M23 soldiers are blocking the road and are heading towards Kavumu – they already have control of Katana,” the resident said.

The town of Kabamba, north of Katana, was taken on Thursday, according to three people.

As the fighting rages in the east, a heavier military presence has also been visible throughout the country’s capital Kinshasa, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of Goma, over the past week, a Reuters reporter said.

After the fall of Goma, protesters in Kinshasa attacked a U.N. compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, France and the United States, expressing anger at what they said was foreign interference. Looters ransacked the embassy of Kenya.

(Reuters).

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These soldiers are alleged to have left the front shortly before the M23 rebels took control of several areas in the mineral-rich region of Kivu in eastern Congo.

The 75 soldiers who are facing trial were arrested after fleeing the front lines of the war, after the occupation of Nyabibwe, and accused of rape, murder, looting and insurrection, the military prosecutor’s office told Reuters news agency.

The United Nations has reported that in the city of Goma, the capital of Kivu, there have been several atrocities, including mass murder, mass rape, sexual slavery and other violations against humanity, which have taken place in the Kivu region, especially in Goma.

M23 fighters, Congolese government forces and pro-government militias were all involved in the atrocities, according to the UN human rights office.

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The rebel group M23 which is supported by the Rwandan government quickly captured a lot of land in the eastern region of the DRC which is rich in minerals, the attack cost thousands of lives and displaced a large number of people.

This group took control of the strategic city of Goma last week and was approaching the neighboring region of South Kivu, which is the latest tension in decades of conflict in the region.

Kagame and Tshisekedi are participating in a joint summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which will bring together the 8 countries of the East African Community and the 16 member countries of the Southern African Development Community.

The Rwandan government has denied supporting M23, but a report by the United Nations said that last year, nearly 4,000 Rwandan soldiers were stationed in the DRC and benefited from the smuggling of large amounts of gold and platinum – an important mineral for modern phones and laptops.

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The war is between the rebel group supported by Rwanda M23 and the Congolese military, and it first started around Goma in the mineral rich region of Kivu.

Vivian van de Perre, the deputy head of the United Nations mission in Goma, said while talking to reporters on live video, that members of the United Nations in Goma are actively helping M23, collecting the bodies still on the streets.

She said that so far about 2,000 have been found and the bodies of another 900 are in hospital beds.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Rwanda of giving full support to the M23 rebellion, but Rwanda has denied this.

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DISPLACED RETURN HOME

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Muhingo Nzangi, who is also the local MP, told the press that the military has dealt a big blow to the M23 rebels supported by Rwanda.

The rebels still claim to be in control of the city. The United States condemned the attack in Goma, reiterating its commitment to respecting the independence of the Congo.

Reports say that at least seventeen people have died and around four hundred others have been injured in the ongoing clashes.

Heavy artillery fire was heard in parts of the city yesterday until last night. The M23 rebels said yesterday that they had captured the city, but the government said it was still in control of important areas such as the airport.

A UN official described the situation in the city as very chaotic, saying that the war is still going on. displaced.

The aid agency also said that they attacked hospitals where children were injured. Thousands of people are still fleeing Goma, while others are trapped in their homes.

The city’s water and electricity have been cut off. Kenyan President William Ruto and his Rwandan counterpart have agreed to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has agreed to start peace talks with Rwanda.

The United States condemned the Goma attack, reiterating its commitment to respecting the territory and independence of the Congo, and the government vowed not to give any land to the M23 rebels.

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