Rebel group hits key smartphone mineral mining town in Congo

Congo President Felix Tshisekedi

Attacks on two camps for displaced people in eastern Congo's North Kivu province left at least 12 people dead. The UN called the attacks a "flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime." Lt Col Ndjike Kaiko, a Congolese army spokesperson, blamed the attacks on a rebel group, M23, with alleged links to Rwanda.

The group denied any role in the attacks and blamed Congolese forces. The bombings follow the M23 rebel group's capture of the strategic mining town of Rubaya this week. The town holds deposits of tantalum, which is extracted from coltan, a key component in the production of smartphones. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo has produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

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