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UAE expresses solidarity with DR Congo after massive mine collapse kills at least 200
MoFA conveyed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the government and people of DR Congo over this tragedy
- PUBLISHED: Sun 1 Feb 2026, 9:47 PM
- By:
- Salma El Omla
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The United Arab Emirates has expressed its solidarity with the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the collapse of a mine in the town of Rubaya, in eastern Congo, which resulted in a number of deaths.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) conveyed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the government and people of DR Congo over this tragedy.
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The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported on Sunday that a massive landslide at a militia-controlled mine in the country’s east may have killed at least 200 people.
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Since resurfacing in 2021, the M23 armed group has taken control of large parts of the resource-rich eastern DRC, including the Rubaya mine in North Kivu province, which it seized in April 2024 with support from Rwanda.
The mine produces 15 to 30 per cent of the world’s coltan, a critical mineral used in electronics such as laptops and smartphones.
Thousands of artisanal miners work daily in hazardous conditions at Rubaya, often relying on basic tools like shovels and wearing only rubber boots.
In a statement to AFP on Sunday, the DRC communications ministry expressed “deep dismay” over the tragedy, noting that the landslide had likely claimed at least 200 lives.
According to information obtained by AFP, part of a hillside in the mine collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. A second landslide struck on Thursday morning.
The M23-appointed governor of North Kivu, Eraston Bahati Musanga, who visited the site on Friday, confirmed there were “at least 200 deaths” and said bodies had been recovered from the debris, though an exact count remains unknown. AFP was unable to independently verify the toll.
Inputs from AFP
