The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain

Kinshasa accuses the company of illegally using what it described as “blood minerals” in its supply chain. Including war crimes, laundering, forgery, and deception.

Lawyers for the Congolese government say Apple has bought contraband supplies from the conflict-ravaged eastern DRC and Rwanda.

Both are zones in which the materials are alleged to be mined illegally.

The DRC government says they were then integrated into global supply chains before ending up in the company’s devices.

United Nations experts and human rights groups say some of the artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting, and other crimes.

Kinshasa says this makes Apple complicit in crimes taking place in the east of the country.

The tech giant says it does not source its primary materials directly but that it does carefully verify their origin.

However, the DRC’s lawyers allege Apple units in the two countries deploy deceptive commercial practices to persuade consumers that its supply chains are above board.

The mineral-rich eastern DRC has been racked by violence between rebel groups and the Congolese army since the 1990s.