Rebel leader denounces US-DRC minerals deal one year after Goma's fall

Jan 28 (Reuters) – The leader of a Congolese rebel coalition that includes Rwanda-backed M23 said a deal between Kinshasa and Washington related to critical minerals in the war-hit region was deeply flawed and unconstitutional, casting doubt on its implementation.

Corneille Nangaa, who leads the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), was referring to a strategic partnership agreement signed in Washington on December 4, under which the United States would obtain greater access to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s critical minerals in exchange for investment and security cooperation.

In an interview with Reuters in Goma on Monday, Nangaa said the plan suffered from a lack of transparency and legal shortcomings, citing what he called “the opacity surrounding the negotiations” and “procedural flaws, particularly the violation of the Constitution and the law.”

Nangaa’s criticism of the deal raises further questions about the feasibility of U.S. investment in war-hit eastern Congo one year after M23 seized Goma, the region’s biggest city, as part of a lightning offensive.

PRESIDENCY CALLS CONTRACT CONCERNS ‘SPECULATIVE’

Most of eastern Congo’s key minerals, including coltan, lie in areas now held by M23, which has seized major mining zones such as Rubaya in North Kivu.

Mining sites offered to Washington could later become the subject of disputes because they may already have been granted to other partners, Nangaa said.

“The Americans may have signed it, but they should know that they signed it with an illegitimate regime, and a corrupt one at that,” he said.

Asked for comment, the Congolese presidency rejected Nangaa’s accusations, saying the partnership “fully falls within the constitutional prerogatives” of the elected president and government.

It called concerns over potential disputes with existing contract holders “speculative”, and said any cooperation would respect valid contracts and comply with Congo’s mining regulations.

Congo’s government has said the partnership will be presented to lawmakers for approval in March. “We have a sound majority in parliament, so we believe that we will get the parliament’s approval”, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba told Reuters in Davos last week.

RELATIONS WITH RWANDA

In the interview with Reuters, Nangaa said the AFC worked with neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda on security issues but denied receiving support from Kigali.

Rwanda denies backing M23, though a report by a United Nations group of experts in July assessed that it exercised command and control over the rebels.

Last week, Rwanda’s ambassador to the United States said in a statement that Kigali engages in “security coordination” with AFC/M23.

The capture of Goma, a city of more than two million people on Congo’s border with Rwanda, marked one of the biggest escalations in years of fighting in eastern Congo.

Nangaa told Reuters that security had improved in areas under rebel control since the takeover, adding that schools and hospitals were operating normally and that displaced people had returned home.

The U.N. Human Rights Office says M23,Congolese armed forces and other armed groups have committed serious rights violations, some of which may amount to war crimes. All sides deny wrongdoing.

Nangaa accused Kinshasa of blocking peace efforts, saying ceasefire commitments discussed in talks in Doha, mediated by Qatar with U.S. backing, had not been implemented. The Congolese government rejects those claims, blaming the rebel group for the continued violence.

M23 forces briefly entered the town of Uvira in December saying it soughtto stop attacks on civilians, but later withdrew. Nangaa warned that further action could not be ruled out if insecurity continued.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Writing by Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Aidan Lewis)