AFRICA/DR CONGO – “In addition to Rwanda, the M23 and its Congolese leadership must be sanctioned”

Kinshasa – “The US sanctions on Rwanda do not affect the Congolese who are recruited by the M23,” local sources from South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, occupied by the Rwandan-backed M23 guerrilla fighters, told Fides. On March 2, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwandan army and four high-ranking military officials from Kigali, accusing them of supporting the M23 rebels in eastern DRC .
When asked whether this measure could help end the rebel movement’s occupation of large parts of eastern DRC, local sources, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, replied: “We all know that the M23 movement has had its bases in Rwanda since its founding and previously also in Uganda.
But we know that the M23 is now located here in Congo, and that its ranks include more than 20,000 soldiers who are not Rwandans and who are not affected by the sanctions. And they say it openly: “The sanctions do not affect us.” So much so that a few days after the sanctions were imposed on Rwanda, M23 leaders showed 1,500 new commandos, on television, with a speech by Sultani Makenga, . The ceremony was perceived as a challenge to the American measure,” the observers confirm.
“In light of the sanctions imposed against Rwanda, the M23 declares that it has nothing to do with that country. The head of the movement’s political wing , Corneille Nangaa, also states that he is Congolese and that the sanctions do not affect him.” “We believe that sanctions must be imposed on the leaders of the army occupying Goma and Bukavu,” the sources continued. “Whether civilians or military personnel, the leadership is here because the administration installed by the M23 is made up of Congolese, even if there are somewhat fewer of them in Goma. Therefore, if the goal is to force the M23 to return the occupied territories to the Congolese authorities, sanctions must be imposed on their leadership, which is located here in eastern Congo. It is true that Rwanda is the base from which the M23 troops set out, but sanctioning only that country is insufficient, as the fighting continues both in North Kivu and in the mountains of South Kivu.”

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