About 5,000 soldiers and police officers are still deployed at mining sites in southern DR Congo, the NGO Justicia Asbl said on Monday. The sites are in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces. According to Radio Okapi, the group says this defies a ban the country's president announced in July.
The claim follows investigations by Justicia Asbl at several sites, including Menda, Mupampala, Kyona 2, Kipense, Sokoroshi and Kakanda Nord. The group says members of the national army (FARDC) and the national police (PNC) are still posted there. Authorities had ordered them out of mining zones.
Justicia Asbl president Timothée Mbuya said the personnel counted include members of the Republican Guard and the 22nd military region. They also include staff of the military prosecutor's office and several police units. He said their presence does not always match a security need raised by mining companies.
The group also says some uniformed officers are directly or indirectly involved in mining for private entities or politically exposed persons. It says this raises serious concerns about human rights and the management of natural resources.
Mbuya warned that the practice could damage the image of Congolese minerals on international markets. He said that leaving ineligible soldiers and police at the sites means Congolese copper and cobalt risk being seen as minerals produced through human rights violations.
Justicia Asbl is calling on authorities to enforce the withdrawal orders and make the extractive sector more transparent. It says respecting the ban would improve mining governance and reduce the risk of abuse. It would also bring mining in line with national and international standards, the group says. Radio Okapi did not carry a response from the government or the security forces.