The EU on Friday 26 July added nine individuals and the rebel coalition Alliance du fleuve Congo (AFC) to its sanctions list against armed groups fuelling the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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The measure targets several commanders and the Congo River Alliance coalition, bringing the total number of entries on the EU sanctions list for the DRC to 31. In a EU Council statementthey are accused of “ serious violations of human rights ” And ” to maintain the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in eastern DRC “.
The AFC’s listing came a day after the United States also imposed sanctions on the group.
Read alsoDRC: Washington announces sanctions against the Congo River Alliance
The main member of the AFC is the March 23 Movement (M23), an armed group active in the east of the Central African country. The political leader of the AFC, Corneille Nangaa Yobeluois one of the nine people sanctioned.
Also included are two M23 leaders: its executive secretary, Benjamin Mbonimpa, and Brigadier General Justin Gacheri Musanga.
The commander and deputy commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda – Abacunguzi Combatant Forces (FDLR-FOCA), Gustave Kubwayo and Pierre Célestin Rurakabijem, are on the list of those sanctioned.
The M23 and FDLR-FOCA rebel groups are fuelling the conflict, the EU said. They are responsible for serious human rights violations, including killings, sexual violence and attacks on civilians, as well as the recruitment of children. “.
Amigo Kibirige, commander of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group of Ugandan origin that has spread to the DRC, known for its ” extreme level of violence against civilians “, is also on the list.
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A commander and a spokesperson of the CMC-FDP group were also sanctioned. A colonel in the Rwandan army, Augustin Migabo, was also hit by EU sanctions.
All of these individuals are subject to a travel ban, a freeze on their assets under European jurisdiction and a ban on EU citizens or companies making funds available to them.
According to a report commissioned by the UN, 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers fought alongside the M23 and Kigali exercises a ” de facto control ” on the group’s operations.
A humanitarian truce was announced on July 17 between the M23 rebels and government forces.
Mineral-rich eastern DRC has been ravaged for 30 years by fighting between local and foreign armed groups, dating back to regional wars in the 1990s.
Read alsoUN report on M23: Kigali and Kinshasa react to revelations on Rwanda and Uganda