Why has DRC filed criminal charges against Apple over ‘conflict minerals’?

The tech giant has been accused of sourcing conflict minerals from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has filed criminal complaints against tech giant Apple’s subsidiaries in France and Belgium over the use of “conflict minerals” in their supply chains.

Lawyers representing the Central African country, claimed in a statement this week that Apple’s subsidiaries in Europe are using conflict minerals sourced in sub-Saharan Africa and accused the company of “using deceptive commercial practices to assure consumers that the tech giant’s supply chains are clean”.

So, what are conflict minerals and why has Apple been accused?