The European Union on Monday sanctioned nine people, including the leader of Congo’s M23 rebel movement and Rwandan army officers, in connection with violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a publication in the official EU Journal showed.
The Tutsi-led M23 rebels have seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict.
Among those on the sanctions list are M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa, commanders in Rwanda’s military – the Rwanda Defence Force – and the M23-appointed governor of Congo’s North Kivu province.
Neither Bisimwa nor a Rwandan government spokesperson immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
The EU also sanctioned the Kigali-based Gasabo Gold Refinery and the chief executive of the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB), Francis Kamanzi, stating they were responsible for trafficking Congolese resources through Rwanda.
“Gasabo Gold Refinery has been exploiting the armed conflict, instability or insecurity in the DRC, including through the illicit exploitation or trading of natural resources,” the EU said in the annex to the sanctions list.
In its justification for sanctioning Kamanzi, the annex added that minerals from areas controlled by M23 were being mixed in with Rwandan production.
Gasabo Gold Refinery and the RMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EU sanctions consist of travel bans and asset freezes.
UN investigators say Kigali has given M23 weapons and sent Rwandan soldiers into Congo to assist their advance.
The Rwandan government denies backing M23 and blames Congolese authorities for failing to address security threats along its border.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has previously said the 27-nation bloc will review a critical raw materials agreement with Rwanda over its links to M23.
