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Article: The looting of the Congo: the Democratic Republic of Congo has perhaps the richest concentration of precious metals and minerals on earth. Colette Braeckman describes how their exploitation by warring factions has fuelled the worst conflict anywhere since the Second World War.(Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- May 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ONLY the tiny planes that sit on Kamituga's bare earth runway link this mining town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to the rest of the world.
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The last time Europeans visited Kamituga was over five years ago, before the war began. The children shout with surprise when they see white skin.
The installations of the former Sominki (Societe des Mines du Kivu) company have been ransacked, the shafts flooded and the jungle has invaded the crumbling sheds and offices. But exploitation of the site continues.
Teams of local diggers remove lumps of stone, threaded with veins of gold from grooves hand-cut into ...