There is a good chance that inside your mobile phone is a miniscule amount of a metal that started its journey buried in the earth of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where a war is currently raging. It may even be directly connected to the M23 rebel group that made global headlines this week.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group continued its advance Thursday through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and looked poised to seize a strategic town, as United Nations chief Antonio Guterres call

The U.N. secretary-general appealed Thursday for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a recent escalation of fighting between rebels and the national army has killed at least 2,900 people and displaced tens of thousands.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group were threatening another key town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday as the United Nations warned the risk of violence spreading regionally had "never been higher".