The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of tech giant Apple, accusing it of using conflict mines.

Acting on behalf of the Congolese government, lawyers have argued that Apple is involved in crimes committed by armed groups that control some of the mines in eastern DR Congo.

Apple has said it "vigorously disputes the claims" and is "strongly committed to prudent mineral exploration."

The authorities in France and Belgium will now see if there is enough evidence to take the trial further.

In a statementthe lawyers for the DR Congo spoke about Apple's supply chain being contaminated with "blood minerals".

They claim that the tin, tantalum and tungsten are taken from conflict zones and then "floated through international supply chains".

"These actions have fueled a cycle of violence and conflict by funding militias and terrorist groups and contributing to forced child labor and environmental destruction. "

suppliers to the highest standards in business".

As conflict in the region escalated earlier this year we notified our suppliers that their smelters and refiners must stop sourcing tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the DRC and Rwanda .

"We took this action because we were concerned that independent auditors or industry certification tools were no longer able to do their due diligence to meet our high standards."

Eastern DR Congo is a major source of minerals and the global thirst for them has fueled wars there for decades.

Rights groups have long alleged that large quantities of minerals from legitimate mines, as well as facilities run by armed groups, are transported to neighboring Rwanda and end up in the our phones and computers.

In the past Rwanda has described the Congolese government's lawsuit against Apple as a media stunt.

He has denied the sale of any conflict mines with the tech company.