US imposes sanctions on Rwanda military over east Congo fighting

The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions ‌on the Rwanda Defence Force and top military officials over their role in ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and called for their immediate withdrawal from the mineral-rich region.

Rwanda has long rejected allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that ​it supports the AFC/M23 rebel group, which staged a lightning offensive last year and now holds ​more territory in eastern DRC than ever before.

But the U.S. Treasury Department said on ⁠Monday that the rebels’ gains would have been impossible without Rwandan backing. The State Department said separately that ​Rwanda’s support had enabled “horrific human rights abuses.”

In an emailed statement to Reuters, Rwanda’s government said the sanctions unjustly ​targeted only one party to the peace process and “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict.”

The statement said Kigali was “fully committed to disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations” under U.S.-led mediation, but accused Congo of ​failing to keep promises such as ending support for militias.

Congo’s government said it welcomed the sanctions, describing them  as “a strong signal in support of respect” for its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The sanctioned Rwandan officials include army chief of staff Vincent Nyakarundi, as well as the chief of defence staff, the special operations force commander and the commander of the 5th Infantry Division, according to the Treasury Department.

Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in December as part ​of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push ​to broker peace in the region and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.

Just days after that ceremony, however, AFC/M23 rebels entered the eastern Congo city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, ​in the war’s biggest escalation for months.

By Reuters