Latest news with #LawrenceKanyukaKingston
Washington Post
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
The US sanctions a Rwanda official and a rebel spokesperson over violence in eastern Congo
NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States on Thursday sanctioned a Rwandan government minister for his alleged role in the conflict in neighboring Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are battling the Congolese army and have captured more territory, including two key cities. Along with the Rwandan minister for regional integration, James Kabarebe, the U.S. also sanctioned a spokesperson of the M23 rebels, Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston. Two companies linked to Kanyuka and registered in Britain and France were also sanctioned.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. sanctions Rwandan minister M23 member over conflict in DRC
Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions Thursday against figures related to M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Treasury announced sanctions against Rwanda Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe over alleged support for the M23 movement along with M23 senior member and spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston and two of his companies were also sanctioned. Treasury alleged that M23 is responsible for human rights abuses including killings, sexual violence and attacks against civilians that have occurred during its armed rebellion against Congo. Kabarebe, a former Rwandan general, is a Rwandan government liaison to M23 who orchestrates RDF support for the armed group and manages its generation of revenue from the DRC's mineral resources, coordinating the export of extracted minerals from mining sites in DRC to be exported to Rwanda. "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 in a statement. He added the U.S. is committed to ensuring a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Rwanda. M23 got started in 2012, was then defeated by Congo's military and the U.N. Force Intervention Brigade and re-emerged in 2021 with Rwandan Defense Force support. "M23's actions have resulted in the mass displacement of Congolese civilians; the capture of Goma and Bukavu, major urban centers; and the seizure of Rubaya, one of the world's largest mining areas for critical minerals," Treasury said in a Thursday statement. Treasury said thousands of civilians were killed in M23's capture of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of January. The sanctioned companies are Kingston Fresh LTD and Kingston Holding. According to the Treasury Department Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston is the owner of the companies. Kingston Fresh is a British-registered company. Kingston Holding is a mining consultancy based in France. M23 was first designated for sanctions by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in 2013. M23 rebels captured the eastern Democratic Republic Congo city of Bukavu Monday with aid from Rwanda's military.
Al Jazeera
20-02-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US sanctions Rwanda minister over DRC fighting
The US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as M23 rebels there continue an offensive that is fuelling a mass exodus to Burundi. The US Treasury Department on Thursday said Rwanda's Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe was being targeted because he is 'central to Rwanda's support' for the M23 armed group. The US sanctions also targeted Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a senior member and spokesperson for the Congo River Alliance – which includes the M23 – and two companies he controls in the United Kingdom and France. In a statement, the Treasury said the two individuals and two entities were 'linked to violence and human rights abuses' in DRC. 'Today's action underscores the need for Rwanda to return to negotiations under the Angola-led Luanda Process to achieve a resolution to the conflict in eastern DRC,' it added. There was no immediate comment from Rwanda, which denies accusations from the United Nations, the US and several other countries that it supports the M23 militarily. Rwanda has accused the DRC of sheltering the FDLR, an armed group created by Hutus who took part in the massacre of Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The DRC government accuses Rwanda of 'expansionist ambitions' and says it is stealing vast amounts of minerals. UN experts said in a report (PDF) published last month that rebels in eastern DRC fraudulently exported 150 tonnes of coltan to Rwanda in 2024. Germany summons ambassador Separately on Thursday, Germany said it was summoning the Rwandan ambassador to Berlin to protest against M23 advances in eastern DRC. 'Backed by Rwanda the M23 militia continues its offensive in eastern DRC. Rwanda must respect the integrity of the DRC [and] withdraw its troops,' Germany's Federal Foreign Office said on social media platform BlueSky. 'We strongly condemn the violation of international law and have summoned the Rwandan ambassador.' The ministry also said the DRC government in Kinshasa needed to 'talk to M23' and 'take Rwanda's legitimate security interests seriously'. The United Nations refugee agency said the conflict in the DRC had sparked Burundi's biggest influx of refugees in 25 years, as roughly 30,000 people crossed the border to escape the rebels' advance. 'People are still pouring in by the thousands every day,' Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, a UNHCR representative in Burundi, told a news conference on Wednesday. The Rwandan-backed fighters have made big gains in the eastern DRC, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu and stoking fears of a regional conflagration. The UN human rights office, OHCHR, confirmed on Tuesday that M23 fighters had conducted summary executions of children after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. Some of the rebels were also underage, it said. 'We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons,' OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said. 'We call on Rwanda and M23 to ensure that human rights and international humanitarian law are respected.' Al Jazeera's Alain Uaykani, reporting from Bukavu, said Red Cross staff were collecting bodies for a mass burial. 'It's very difficult to know the identities of those who were killed here, but the Red Cross has confirmed that children are among the victims,' he said. Uaykani added that the M23 has denied responsibility, pinning the killings on the Congolese army instead.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US sanctions Rwandan minister, militant over DRC conflict, says Treasury
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a statement. The Treasury said Rwanda's Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe was being targeted because he is "central to Rwanda's support" for the M23 militant group that it said was responsible for human rights abuses in Congo. Also targeted was Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, an M23 and Congo River Alliance senior member and spokesperson, and two companies he controls in Britain and France.
Reuters
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US sanctions Rwandan minister, militant over DRC conflict, says Treasury
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a statement. The Treasury said Rwanda's Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe was being targeted because he is "central to Rwanda's support" for the M23 militant group that it said was responsible for human rights abuses in Congo. Also targeted was Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, an M23 and Congo River Alliance senior member and spokesperson, and two companies he controls in Britain and France.
