The development in Rubaya follows intense fighting between the M23 rebels and government forces throughout Tuesday, which forced many of the town’s residents to flee their homes.

A town at the heart of mining coltan, a key ingredient in making mobile phones, was reportedly seized on Tuesday in the Masisi district of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by the M23 rebel group.

Colonel Willy Ngoma, a spokesperson for the M23, confirmed the capture of Rubaya to the BBC. He said the town fell into the hands of the group late Tuesday following heavy clashes with government troops.

Ngoma said the aim of the takeover was not economic gain from the area’s rich coltan deposits, but rather to push back against hostile forces accused of genocidal intentions.

The takeover happened on the day French President Emmanuel Macron called on neighbouring Rwanda to “halt its support” for the M23 rebel group.

Macron made his comments after holding talks with DRC’s President Félix Tshisekedi in France’s capital Paris.

The Congolese government has not yet commented on the development, but a local civil society activist in Masisi confirmed that M23 had captured the strategic town.

Voltaire Sadiki told the BBC that the rebels had taken the town of Kibaya and were interacting with the local populace, ordering “civilians with guns to hand them [in] and continue with their lives”.

Government spokesperson for North Kivu province, who also speaks for the state military, has promised to provide more information on the situation in Rubaya later.

The development in Rubaya occurs amid allegations by the Congolese government against Rwanda. The government accuses Rwanda of supporting M23 and facilitating the illegal export of minerals from captured territories.

Kigali has repeatedly denied backing the rebels, who have captured much territory in DRC’s mineral-rich east during fighting over the past 18 months.

DR Congo is the world’s second-biggest producer of coltan, with most of it coming from the mines around Rubaya. The Central African country shipped 1,918 tons internationally in 2023, just behind Rwanda’s 2,070 tons, according to the Ecofin Agency.

Coltan is used to produce batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones.

Despite the critical role of coltan mined in Rubaya on the international stage, the majority of the town’s population lives in poverty, primarily relying on mining for their livelihood, as reported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The M23 rebels, initially Congolese army deserters, accuse the government of marginalising the country’s ethnic Tutsi minority and refusing to negotiate with them. The rebels regard the verdant hills around Masisi as their true homeland.

Tshisekedi says the rebels are a front for what he calls the “expansionist aims” of Rwanda, which it denies.