A Congolese rebel leader has condemned a minerals partnership between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States as unconstitutional and deeply flawed.
Corneille Nangaa, head of the Alliance Fleuve Congo coalition that includes the M23 group, questioned the deal’s legitimacy and future implementation.
The agreement, signed in Washington in December, aims to grant the United States greater access to Congo’s critical minerals.
In return, the deal promises investment and security cooperation in a region scarred by decades of armed conflict.
Speaking to Reuters in Goma, Nangaa said the negotiations lacked transparency and violated constitutional and legal procedures.
He argued that secrecy surrounding the talks undermined their credibility and weakened the agreement’s legal foundation.
Nangaa’s remarks deepen uncertainty over foreign investment in eastern Congo, one year after M23 captured the strategic city of Goma.
Most of the region’s prized minerals, including coltan, lie in areas currently controlled by the rebel group.
M23 has seized key mining zones such as Rubaya in North Kivu, tightening its grip on valuable resources.
Nangaa warned that mining sites offered to Washington could spark disputes because some may already be allocated to other partners.
“The Americans signed with an illegitimate and corrupt regime,” Nangaa said, directly challenging Kinshasa’s authority.
Congo’s presidency dismissed his claims, calling concerns about the deal speculative and legally unfounded.
Officials said the partnership falls within the constitutional powers of the elected president and government.
They insisted any cooperation would respect existing contracts and comply fully with Congo’s mining laws.
The government plans to submit the agreement to parliament for approval in March, expressing confidence in securing backing.
Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba said the ruling coalition holds a strong parliamentary majority.
Nangaa also addressed relations with Rwanda and Uganda, saying his coalition coordinates on security but receives no support.
Rwanda denies backing M23, despite United Nations experts reporting Kigali exercises command and control over the group.
The UN report cited training, military equipment, and advanced systems allegedly giving M23 a decisive battlefield advantage.
Rwanda’s ambassador to Washington later acknowledged security coordination with the AFC and M23 factions.
The fall of Goma, a city of over two million people near the Rwandan border, marked a major escalation.
Nangaa claimed security has improved under rebel control, with schools and hospitals functioning and displaced residents returning.
The UN Human Rights Office accuses all sides of serious abuses, some potentially amounting to war crimes.
Nangaa accused the Congolese government of blocking peace efforts discussed in Qatar-mediated talks backed by the United States.
Kinshasa rejects those allegations, blaming continued violence on the rebels and warning further clashes remain possible.