Congo creates paramilitary mining guard backed by US, UAE funding

Kinshasa, Apr 27 (AP) Congo on Monday announced the creation of a paramilitary guard to secure its vast mining operations, backed by US and Emirati investments, as Washington tries to lock in access to critical minerals amid a fragile peace process in the troubled east. The central African country’s General Inspectorate of Mines said in a statement the new unit would be deployed gradually, with an initial 2,500 to 3,000 personnel expected to be operational by December following six months of training in military collaboration. The paramilitary force is projected to have more than 20,000 personnel across all of Congo’s…