Nearly three months ago, Rwandan troops entered eastern DR Congo for a joint military operation with the Congolese against Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels.

The operation lasted just over a month and the two governments concluded that the operation had “seriously weakened” the rebels, whose leaders have been linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

However a BBC investigation has discovered that the rebels still have strongholds in eastern Congo and are financing their continued existence by controlling mines near the border with Rwanda.

Our correspondent in the DRC, Thomas Fessy reports on how illegal mining has continued to fuel one of Africa’s most deadly conflicts.