The United States announced Thursday that it would impose sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged involvement in the escalating conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Rwanda-backed M23 militia has recently captured key cities in eastern Congo, worsening the humanitarian crisis and fueling growing discussions of a potential coup against President Felix Tshisekedi’s government in Kinshasa.
“This aggression has undermined the territorial integrity of the DRC,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said, urging Rwanda to cease its support for M23 and return to Angola-led peace negotiations. “This violence risks escalating into a broader regional conflict,” she warned.
The U.S. Treasury Department, which implemented the financial sanctions, identified James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration, as the target. A retired general, Kabarebe is accused of orchestrating Rwanda’s support for M23 and facilitating the exploitation of mineral resources from DRC’s mining areas. The Treasury further noted that Kabarebe has coordinated the export of these resources through Rwanda.
The M23 group itself has been under U.S. sanctions since 2013 for alleged human rights abuses, including targeting children, killing and maiming civilians, and committing sexual violence.
In addition to Kabarebe, Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a senior M23 member and spokesperson for the Congo River Alliance, was also sanctioned, along with two companies he controls in the United Kingdom and France.
Rwanda has consistently denied allegations from the DRC, the United Nations, and Western powers that it supports M23 with arms and troops, stating that it is instead protecting itself from a Hutu militia that is fighting alongside the Congolese military.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo dismissed the sanctions as “unjustified,” urging the international community to support regional efforts toward a political solution. “If sanctions could resolve the conflict in eastern DRC, we would have had peace in the region decades ago,” Makolo told media.
