President Felix Zisekedi wrote to President Donald Trump. There, they provided extensive mineral rights to the US Sovereign Wealth Fund in exchange for military assistance to the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23.
The letter from February 8, which has not been officially published, review By Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Wednesday.
“Your election has guided us through America's golden age,” Tshisekedi told Trump. “Our partnership offers the United States a strategic advantage by securing key minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and tantalum in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Tshiseekedi pushed the M23 back in sought unspecified military aid and a “formal security agreement” from Trump. This is driving back the M23, which has acquired major cities from the DRC's orientality and threatened the Kinshasa capital.
A spokesperson for Tshisekedi's office confirmed the credibility of the letter and said negotiations with US officials regarding DRC's natural resources are already underway. The source said WSJ The White House National Security Council (NSC) requested a briefing on Tshisekedi's proposal.
“The DRC is interested in partnering with the Trump administration to end the conflict and stop the flow of blood minerals through Rwanda,” a Tshisekedi spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the White House declined to comment on the letter, which is described as “private communication to the president.”
WSJ The DRC noted that it was attempting to separate deals to ensure mining operations with former Blackwater CEO and founder Eric Prince. Blackwater has been gone for a long time Sold out In 2010, however, Prince was involved in other private security duties, and he An honest supporter President Trump's.
Eastern Congo has a wealth of mineral resources, and certainly more security can be used. Over 100 armed groups are known to operate in the area and are known to cause large-scale security and major issues for mining operations Humanitarian crisis.
The rebel group M23, composed primarily of fighters from Tutsi ethnic groups and supported by Tutsi dominant Rwanda, launched a massive attack earlier this year. M23 Captured It is a strategically important city in Goma with Rwanda backing in January and has since managed other population centres, including the Warikale mining hub. M23 announced the capture of Walkare on Thursday, one day after Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met in Doha, Qatar and Qatar. Called For an immediate ceasefire.
“We are the Congo fighting for a cause. Unless we know the details of what happened in Doha, we say it has nothing to do with us unless it solves our problem,” said a spokesman for the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a larger coalition of rebel groups to which M23 belongs.
The Warikale, with a population of about 15,000, was able to push the farthest West M23 into the DRC. Thousands of refugees reportedly fled as rebels were involved. The DRC forces said the town must be abandoned as the counterattacks resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
In addition to expelling a large number of civilians, the M23 attacks have shut down some mining companies.
The M23 was expected meet Tuesday with Congolese officials in Angola for the ceasefire talks on Tuesday I was pulled out Of Monday's meeting, European Union sanctions imposed on some of the leaders of the rebel group and the DRC's efforts to recapture territory occupied by the M23 units.
