LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo — At 4 a.m. on April 27, soldiers shattered the peace of a village in a mining region the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lualaba province. According to local civil society platform CASMIA, the soldiers fired shots and arrested several residents, including women, in the village of Munjenje, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of the provincial capital, Kolwezi. “First, the police intervened,” says Chadrack Mukad, coordinator of CASMIA, which focuses on the impacts of industrial and artisanal mining, when contacted by Mongabay. “Then, the [DRC army] arrived, the Republican Guard. They went after people in their villages, entering houses. One young man was shot in the leg, and another in the neck. The one who was shot in the leg had to have his leg amputated in Lubumbashi.” According to CASMIA, those arrested were taken to the DRC police headquarters in Kolwezi, the capital of the province of Lualaba. Roy Kaumba, Lualaba province’s interior minister, told Mongabay that the detainees have since appeared in court and found guilty of vandalism and criminal association, some receiving sentences of up to three years in jail. On Apr. 21, 2025, residents of Munjenje village blockaded the road leading to the Kamoa mine to demand compensation for land for a planned expansion. A local civil society platform says soldiers shot and injured several villagers; others were arrested and given jail sentences of up to three years. Images courtesty of CASMIA. Their alleged offenses stemmed from protests that began in late…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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