Smuggling of ivory, gold and timber responsible for conflicts in DR Congo

#drcongo #wildlife #gold #timber #ivory A report of the UN has indicated that large scale smuggling of ivory, gold, timber and other natural products worth over a billion dollars per year is fuelling war by funding dozens of rebel groups as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 17 April 2015.
It seems militarized criminal groups who have transnational links are involved in the large-scale smuggling activities. The range of items include gold, minerals, and timber, charcoal and wildlife products like ivory.

The earnings are in the region of up to $1.3 billion each year from eastern DR Congo as revealed by the UN Environment Program (UNEP). This revenue goes to finance at least 25 armed groups. Some other reports put the figure at 49. These are increasingly fueling the conflict in the war-torn region.
Control over the mineral-rich areas appears to be the dominant factor in the conflicts that have raged in eastern DR Congo for decades. For example - gold forms the largest section, with organized crime gangs earning up to $120 million a year from the trade. Most of this income goes outside the impoverished region and the estimated two percent that goes to the armed groups (works out to roughly $13 million a year), provides the funds necessary to prolong the war.
This sum can sustain at least 8,000 armed fighters for one year.
Obviously, there are many interested parties to ensure that peace does not get a chance to return to the strife torn region.

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