(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration sanctioned one of Rwanda’s most powerful officials for his role in supporting the M23 rebel movement in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s minister of state for regional integration and a former general in its defense force now “orchestrates” RDF support for M23, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement Thursday. “In addition, Kabarebe manages much of Rwanda and M23’s generation of revenue from the DRC’s mineral resources.”
Rwanda has denied supporting the rebels or having troops in the country.
“Sanctions are unjustified, the international community should support, not undermine, ongoing regional efforts towards a political solution,” government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Bloomberg in a message Thursday. “If sanctions could resolve conflict in eastern DRC, we would have had peace in the region decades ago.”
The Rwanda-backed M23, which relaunced a rebellion in 2021, claiming to protect the Tutsi community in eastern Congo, has in the past three weeks captured two major cities in the region, leaving thousands dead and nearly a million displaced, raising concerns of a regional war.
The US also sanctioned M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka.
“Today’s action underscores our intent to hold accountable key officials and leaders like Kabarebe and Kanyuka, who are enabling the RDF and M23’s destabilizing activities in the eastern DRC,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “The United States remains committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution to this conflict.”
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