(Washington) The US Treasury Department announced on Thursday a series of sanctions targeting a coalition of Congolese rebel groups, including the March 23 Movement (M23), accused of seeking to overthrow the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The coalition, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), is accused by Washington of increasing instability in the country and the displacement of civilians, particularly in the east of the country, where fighting has been regular for more than twenty years.
The M23 movement, which Kinshasa accuses of being supported by neighboring Rwanda, is already targeted by a series of sanctions, both by the United States and at the United Nations level, for “its long-standing destabilization of the Congolese province of North Kivu and for being responsible for human rights violations,” the Commerce Department recalled in its press release.
“Today’s actions reinforce our commitment to holding accountable those who seek continued instability, violence, and civilian harm to achieve their political goals,” said U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, quoted in the statement.
“We condemn the AFC and its members, including the M23, who are fuelling a bloody conflict and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC,” he added.
The sanctions target in particular Bertrand Bisimwa, the president of the M23, and Charles Sematama, the military leader of another armed group, Twirwaneho, as well as the former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of Congo, Corneille Yobeluo Nangaa, accused by Washington of having played a key role in the postponement of the elections, initially scheduled for 2016, until 2018.
The sanctions provide, as always, for the freezing of all assets held, directly or indirectly, in the United States by the entities or persons targeted, as well as a ban on any American company or citizen trading with the sanctioned individuals or legal entities.
In a separate statement, the State Department confirmed that it is participating in the announced sanctions, which also include a ban on the targeted individuals entering the United States.