WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on commanders of armed groups it accused of driving the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting has continued despite mediation efforts by Washington.
Clashes have continued in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels, which the U.N. says are backed by Rwanda, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia rooted in the 1994 genocide, are fighting on opposite sides. Rwanda denies backing M23.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on M23 commander and chief of intelligence John Imani Nzenze, as well as Gustave Kubwayo, an FDLR commander and leader of an intelligence and special operations unit.
“President Trump has been clear that there is an urgent need to resolve the horrific conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States is committed to peace and prosperity in the region,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
“Persistent violence by armed groups is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis and presents a threat to U.S. interests in the region. Today’s sanctions support a peaceful resolution and end to the bloodshed.”
Nzenze, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government and the Democratic Republic of Congo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in December as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to broker peace and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.
Days after that ceremony, however, M23 rebels entered the eastern Congo city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, in the war’s biggest escalation in months. They later pulled out under U.S. pressure.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi and Clement Bonnerot in Dakar, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Caitlin Webber)
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