The European Union (EU) and US have sanctioned more than ten people, including a high-ranking Rwandan military officer, and two entities, for “serious human rights violations and abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and for sustaining the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in the Eastern DRC.”
- The list includes leaders of the M23-officially known as the March 23 Movement/Congolese Revolutionary Army (M23/ARC).
- The rebel group is engaged in armed conflict with Kinshasa that has seen it win territory across large swathes of the Eastern part of the vast country.
- M23’s battlefield successes have caused strains between Kinshasa and Kigali, as well as diplomatic rifts with Uganda and Kenya.
“Altogether, EU restrictive measures related to human rights violations and electoral obstruction in the DRC now apply to a total of 31 individuals and one entity. Those designated are subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze,” the EU said in a statement. “Furthermore, EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them.”
The individuals include: Benjamin Mbonimpa, and Brigadier-General Justin Gacheri Musanga, both high ranking officials of the M23; deputy Commander Pierre Celestin Rurakabijem and Commander Gustave Kubwayo of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda – Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FDLR-FOCA); Amigo Kiribige, a Commander of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF); The spokesperson and a commander of Collectif des Mouvements pour le Changement-Forces de Défense du Peuple’ (CMC-FDP); Colonel Augustin Migabo of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF).
The regional body also sanctioned the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) and its political leader Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo. The US sanctioned the AFC and its leader; Betrand Bisimwa who is president of M23; an AFC-afilliated group known as Twirwaneho, and Charles Sematama, a commander and deputy military leader of the group.
Why it Matters
A recent report by the UN accused Kenya and Uganda of facilitating the creation of the AFC. The rebel alliance was created in Nairobi in December 2023, in a meeting attended by Yobelou and Bisimwa. In the report, the UN said that both Kampala and Kigali have been providing material support and intelligence to aid M23 cause, as well as smuggling gold from the troubled region.
The AFC’s creation strained Nairobi’s diplomatic relations with Kinshasa, which summoned the former’s ambassador “to provide an explanation” and recalled its own ambassador “for consultations.” A few months later, Kenya’s national carrier had to suspend flights to the DRC after some members of its crew were arrested in what the airline later said was a “misunderstanding.”
The M23’s resurgence after nearly a decade has worsened the security crisis in the DRC, and drawn in the country’s neighbours. Since it begun in 2021 with assistance from Rwanda, the M23’s military successes have seen it win control of key towns, including the Coltan capital of the world, a town called Rubaya. In addition to widespread, coordinated violence, the conflict has led the displacement of more than 1.5 million people.
“Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons,” the US Department of Treasury said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
