US sanctions DR Congo armed group over illicit mining, ceasefire tested
The US Department of the Treasury said on Tuesday that it was blocking all interests and restricting transactions with Pareco-FF, an armed group that it said controlled the key coltan mining site of Rubaya from 2022 to 2024, and which has opposed the M23 group.
The administration of President Donald Trump has been pushing for US access to the region's minerals, as it has done in other parts of the world, including Ukraine.
It also slapped sanctions on the Congolese mining company CDMC, saying it sold minerals that were sourced and smuggled from mines near Rubaya and two Hong Kong-based export companies, East Rise and Star Dragon, which have been accused of buying minerals from the armed group.
'The United States is sending a clear message that no armed group or commercial entity is immune from sanctions if they undermine peace, stability or security in the DRC,' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Rubaya is currently under the control of the M23 group, which is already targeted by US sanctions. The mine there produces 15 to 30 percent of the world's supply of coltan, a mineral used in electronics such as laptops and mobile telephones.
Many Pareco rebels integrated into the DRC military in 2009, but Pareco-FF emerged in 2022 in response to the M23 gains.
The sanctions come as Congolese army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement that the M23 group's 'almost daily' attacks constitute an 'intentional and manifest violation' of the declaration of principles, which the two parties signed in mid-July in Doha, whose terms include a 'permanent ceasefire'.
It followed a separate peace deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments, signed in Washington, DC, the previous month, which also helped the US government and US companies gain control of critical minerals in the region.
The Congolese army said it was ready to respond 'to all provocations from this [M23 group] coalition, accustomed to violating agreements', the statement said.
M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a post on X on Monday that DRC's government was continuing 'its offensive military manoeuvres aimed at full-scale war'.
The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades.
A new surge of unrest broke out early this year when the M23 group captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, setting up their own administrations, with thousands killed in the conflict.
Violence has continued on the ground despite the US and Qatar-brokered peace deal, with fighting becoming more intense since Friday around the town of Mulamba in South Kivu province, where the front line had been relatively stable since March.
The M23 attacked positions between Friday and Monday held by pro-Kinshasa militia and army forces, and pushed them back several kilometres, after clashes using light and heavy weapons, local and security sources said.
The DRC government and the M23 rebels have agreed to sign a permanent peace deal by August 18, but the renewed fighting has threatened this effort.
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