US sanctions Rwandan army and top officials for supporting M23 in DRC
Al Jazeera
Kinshasa welcomed the sanctions while Kigali said the US move ‘unjustly’ targets Rwanda.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four of its top officials for “direct operational support” of the M23 rebel group that has seized large swaths of territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Rwanda has long rejected allegations from DRC, the United Nations and Western powers that it backs M23 and its affiliated Congo River Alliance (AFC), which captured key cities in the mineral-rich east, including the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces last year.
The US Department of the Treasury said on Monday that the rebels’ gains would not have been possible without Rwandan backing.
The US State Department separately added that M23 continued to capture territory even late last year “in clear violation” of a US-mediated agreement.
US President Donald Trump in December brought together the leaders of Rwanda and the DRC to sign a peace deal, predicting a “great miracle”.
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