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While you’ve been distracted with Ukraine and Palestine, both the East and the West are fighting over natural resources in Africa – and Africans are paying a heavy price for it.  Not only are Africans paying with poverty and their lives but these raw material-hungry powers are stealing Africa’s future as well.

Why are so many countries fighting over Africa, on African soil?  To fund wars and to profit from a fabricated “climate change crisis.”

The following list of resources shows the grab for Africa’s resources and the devastation it has left in its wake.  It should be sufficient to leave all but sociopaths and psychopaths in a state of shock.

Where is the outrage?  Where are the protests?  Where are the calls to free Africans?

The following is adapted from a collection of articles published by Naqoyqatsi on a blog page titled ‘Proxy World War in Africa: USA vs China vs EU fighting for Rare Earth Minerals’

A new report details how the Wagner mercenary group uses gold mining in Africa to funnel money to the Kremlin.

According to The Blood Gold Report, Wagner has laundered some $2.5 billion to Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year in an effort to support its war effort.

This is in spite of global sanctions that have shut off the Russian economy from much of the world.

The report was produced by the Consumer Choice Centre, as well as Democracy 21 – a non-profit that tracks corruption and advocates for government transparency.

Jessica Berlin, a political analyst & co-author of the report joined All Things Considered host Scott Detrow to elaborate on their findings, and how far the scheme has gone.

Read more: How ‘blood gold’ from Africa is funding Russia’s war on Ukraine, NPR, 27 December 2023

While Moscow’s involvement in Africa lags behind other powers, it is increasingly tapping into anti-Western sentiment to bolster its influence on the continent amid geopolitical competition between Russia and the West.

Critics of growing involvement by Russia’s Wagner Group, a private military company, say Moscow is bolstering authoritarianism, driving conflict over resources, and threatening human rights. 

Read more: Russia’s Growing Footprint in Africa, Council on Foreign Relations, 28 December 2023

With countries around the world pledging to zero-emission goals, the global demand for rare earth minerals has amplified.

Rare earths comprise 17 minerals that are indispensable to the manufacturing of smartphones, electric vehicles, military weapons systems, and countless other advanced technologies.

Africa holds the promise of large, high-grade deposits of rare earth metals. For three decades, China has managed to secure mining deals across the African continent with the availability of cheap labour and weak regulations. Currently, the global annual demand for rare earth elements (“REEs”) is largely met by China, which has devoted itself to increasing its presence in Africa guaranteeing ambitious energy and technological transitions. However, even with the abundant availability of rare earth deposits in southern and eastern African countries, the region has not yet reached its full potential.

Below are related articles listed by Naqoyqatsi.  Please note we have not included some of the resources.  You can view the full list, which appears to be updated from time to time, HERE.

1. Chinese firm regains control of DR Congo copper mine after agreeing to reach solution with government over royalty disputes, South China Morning Post, 3 April 2022

2. The United States releases signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to strengthen electric vehicle battery value chain, US Department of State, 18 January 2023

3. US counterterrorism efforts destabilising African nations. US-trained officers in Africa have attempted at least nine coups on the continent since 2008, The Intercept, 12 April 2023

4. Behind the secret US war in Africa, Politico, 7 February 2018

5. Even after acknowledging abuses, the US continued to employ notorious proxy forces in Cameroon.   An exclusive document sheds light on a classified Special Operations partnership with a Cameroonian unit implicated in atrocities, The Intercept, 9 March 2022

6. Russia in Africa: How disinformation operations target the continent.  A large social network that promotes anti-Western and pro-Kremlin ideas is helping Russia expand its influence at the expense of France in some of its former colonies in Africa,  BBC News, 1 February 2023

7. Putin wants fealty, and he’s found it in Africa.  Africa will account for a quarter of humanity by 2050. China spreads its influence through huge investments, construction and loans. Mr. Biden convened the US-Africa Leaders Summit “to build on our shared values” and announced $15 billion in new business deals, as the West scrambles to play catch-up and overcome a legacy of colonialism, The New York Times, 24 December 2022

8. Wagner mercenaries sustain losses in fight for Central African Republic gold.  Russian fighters clash with rebels as Kremlin tries to extend power in mineral rich country, The Guardian, 2 February 2023

9. US forces kill senior Islamic State Militant in Somalia, The Wall Street Journal, 26 January 2023

10. Somalia, extremists claim over 100 killed in intense battle, The Hill, 20 January 2023

11. EU building in Central African Republic ‘ravaged by fire’.  A former French colony, the Central African Republic has been the theatre of a civil war for a decade, and has recently become a source of tension over Russian and French influence on the continent, Politico, 19 December 2022

12. US cable: Russian paramilitary group set to get cash infusion from expanded African mine.  The Wagner Group’s mining efforts are becoming increasingly lucrative for the organisation, Politico, 19 January 2023

13. Smothered, poisoned and shot.  Nigerian Army massacred children in its war against Islamist insurgents, witnesses say.  More than 40 soldiers and civilians told Reuters they witnessed the Nigerian military kill children or saw children’s corpses after a military operation. Estimates totalled in the thousands, Reuters, 12 December 2022

14. Nigeria bets on Chinese-funded port to drive economic growth, AP News, 24 January 2023

15. Rebels killed hundreds in Democratic Republic of Congo, The Washington Post, 5 December 2022

16. Heaviest fighting in years breaks out in Congo as rivals seek control of minerals.  Clashes erupt between the Congolese army and Rwanda-backed militias as fighting for control of Congo’s vast mineral riches erupts again, The Wall Street Journal, 21 November 2022

17. Ukraine understandably in focus, but Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict is world’s largest, Wilson Centre, 25 October 2022

18. Mali: West out, Russia in, and then?  Unlike with violent upheavals and wars that have recently shaken the broader Middle East and North African region, in Mali, the West – specifically Europe led by France – decided to mitigate the crisis through a long-term military engagement, though not as extensive as in Afghanistan or Iraq, Atlantic Council, 18 November 2022

19. Biden seeks to catch up with Beijing in Africa.  US President Joe Biden invited around 50 African leaders to Washington this week as part of a broader campaign to play catch-up with its rivals China and Russia, who are vying for more influence on the continent, Foreign Policy, 15 December 2022

20. China’s scramble for Africa’s rare earth elements. China is the dominant global supplier of rare earths and has a significant footprint in Africa. However, its position is now being challenged, Observer Research Foundation, 1 September 2022

21. Apple and Google named in US lawsuit over Congolese child cobalt mining deaths.  Dell, Microsoft and Tesla also among tech firms named in case brought by families of children killed or injured while mining in DRC, The Guardian, 16 December 2019

22. The DRC mining industry: Child labour and formalisation of small-scale mining.  The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has some of the world’s most valuable minerals, such as copper, gold, coltan, cobalt, and diamonds, and has the earth’s second-largest forest after the Amazon. Yet, the DRC is one of the world’s poorest countries as poverty and humanitarian crises plague its citizens, Wilson Centre, 18 March 2014

23. The dark side of Congo’s cobalt rush.  Cell phones and electric cars rely on the mineral, causing a boom in demand. Locals are hunting for this buried treasure—but are getting almost none of the profit, The New Yorker, 24 May 2021

24. The scramble for Africa’s rare earths: China is not alone.  The African continent is home to numerous rare earth deposits, especially in eastern and southern nations like South Africa, Madagascar, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi.  The United States more than anyone else is determined to minimise its vulnerability towards China.  The European Union too is determined to reduce its almost total dependence on China.  Australia and Japan, are also keen to increase their presence in Africa.  China, of course, is not going to be left behind. Beijing could well see itself obliged to increase its presence on the African continent, Italian Institute for International Political Studies, 4 June 2021

25. DR Congo military accused of bombing civilians.  DRC national army, FARDC and its coalition forces have been accused of bombing civilian territories causing mass displacements in the country’s restive eastern region. According to M23, the Congolese military used fighter choppers in their recent strikes to bomb areas with high concentration of civilian population, The New Times, 8 November 2022

26. Rebel offensive in eastern Congo threatens key border city.  As a renewed rebel offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo nears the largest city in the region, Kenya is sending in forces and the DRC and neighboring Rwanda are exchanging tense accusations.  Resource-rich parts of eastern DRC – more than a thousand miles from the capital, Kinshasa, and largely outside the government’s control – have for decades been havens for illicit mining, proxy conflict, and rebel groups like the March 23 Movement (M23), which took control of several villages over the past two weeks, Axios, 7 November 2022

Although the following are not included in Naqoyqatsi’s list, we have to start questioning who and what is truly behind these atrocities:

1. At least 160 Christian farmers killed, 300 wounded in coordinated attacks across 20 Villages in Nigeria by Muslims on Christmas Day weekend, Gateway Pundit, 26 December 2023

2. The persecution facing Christians in Nigeria is extreme and often brutally violent, as Islamic militants and armed bandits attack with increasing impunity. This mostly affects believers living in the Muslim-majority north and Middle Belt, but it’s also spreading to the south. Although all civilians are subject to threats and violence, Christians are often specifically targeted because of their faith, Open Doors UK

3. Sudan conflict leaves thousands dead, millions displaced.  The UN says the conflict between ethnic groups in Sudan has killed hundreds in recent weeks. The violence comes against the backdrop of a civil war that started in April of this year.  More than six million people have since been displaced by the conflict. In the western state of Darfur, officials say non-Arabs have been targeted by paramilitary groups in attacks described as on the verge of ‘pure evil.’ DW News, 20 November 2023

4. How Sudan has become the world’s ‘forgotten war’. Aid organisations are warning of a hunger catastrophe in Sudan as a result of the conflict there, which they describe as a forgotten war. Much of the world’s attention has been elsewhere – on Russia’s fighting in Ukraine and the recent war between Israel and Hamas. In Sudan, out of nearly 25 million people in need of aid, the United Nations has only been able to reach a small fraction, and funding, even for that, is running low, DW News, 16 December 2023