The European Union plans to impose sanctions on nine individuals and one organization in connection with the ongoing conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.
"We are also going to impose sanctions on nine individuals and one organization in the context of the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the most severe in the world today," Barrot stated upon arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
After the failure of mediation efforts under the auspices of Angola, the M23 rebel movement resumed its offensive in the DRC, seizing large parts of the country's east. The DRC government has accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels and urged it to withdraw troops from the country. Rwanda has denied the accusations. In late January, the M23 captured Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC province of North Kivu, and in mid-February, the rebels entered Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province.