The armed group is already under U.S. and United Nations sanctions over alleged human rights abuses and its role in a mass displacement crisis in the DRC….reports Asian Lite News
The United States has imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and four of its senior officials over alleged support for the March 23 Movement (M23) in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.
Citing a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Xinhua reported that Washington accused the RDF of “actively supporting, training, and fighting alongside” the M23. The armed group is already under U.S. and United Nations sanctions over alleged human rights abuses and its role in a mass displacement crisis in the DRC.
The U.S. Treasury further alleged that Rwandan forces had deployed troops and military equipment into eastern Congo, contributing to the M23’s territorial advances, including the capture of key cities and strategic mining areas.
Rwanda strongly denied the accusations. In a statement issued late Monday, the government in Kigali described the sanctions as unfair and one-sided. It argued that targeting only one party to the peace process misrepresents the reality on the ground and distorts the facts surrounding the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Xinhua reported.
