The United States is imposing sanctions on a Rwandan minister and a senior militant from the M23 rebel group in connection with the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Thursday.
"The United States is sanctioning today two individuals and two entities linked to violence and human rights abuses in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This action includes the designation of Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe and the M23 and the Congo River Alliance spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, alongside two of Kanyuka’s companies, Kingston Fresh and Kingston Holding," Bruce said in a statement.
M23 has expanded its control through the DRC territory since mid-December, undermining the territorial integrity of the DRC, the State Department said.
"With Rwanda’s support, it has also threatened, injured, killed, and displaced thousands of innocent civilians, cost the lives of three UN peacekeepers and wounded several others," Bruce said.
This violence risks escalating into a broader regional conflict, she added.
The confrontation between the M23 rebel movement and the government in Kinshasa has continued for years, interrupted by brief periods of truce mediated by Angola. The DRC government accuses neighboring Rwanda of supporting the rebels and urges it to withdraw its troops from the country. Rwanda has rejected all accusations.
In late January, the M23 rebels captured Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC province of North Kivu. Last week, they entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.