LONDON, June 1 (UPI) -- Militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo are suspected of exploiting riches from mining areas to fund their fighting, Global Witness said.
Global Witness, in a 36-page report, describes how rebel DRC Gen. Bosco Ntaganda has taken control of lucrative mineral mining areas in the country. The advocacy group said it believes Ntaganda is using proceeds from mineral riches to finance his mutiny against the DRC government.
Sophia Pickles, a lead campaigner for Global Witness, said external powers like the United States need to take regulatory action to control the minerals trade. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, she said, is more than a year late in issuing rules on so-called conflict minerals.
Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, waged a mutiny in April, leading to escalating levels of conflict and displacement in eastern DRC.
"It is crucial that the Congolese government breaks the prevailing impunity by prosecuting senior officers responsible," Pickles said in a statement from London.
