NDLEA DISMANTLES ABUJA DRUG BUNKS, ARRESTS 132, RECOVERS 220KG ILLICIT SUBSTANCES. (PHOTOS). #PRESS RELEASE.
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila for his support of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and for fueling political instability in Congo's troubled east.
The U.S. Treasury Department said M23 and its political-military arm, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), had been stoking violent conflict in eastern DRC, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and a mass displacement crisis.
Treasury said Kabila had provided financial support to the AFC in order to influence the political situation in eastern DRC, while encouraging DRC troops to defect and join AFC forces. It said Kabila was working to regain influence over the government by backing a candidate opposed to the current leader.
DRC Deputy Prime Minister Jacquemain Shabani welcomed what he called a long-delayed U.S. move against Kabila. "He is the instigator, the initiator, the architect of the destabilization of Congo," Shabani said. "Mr. Kabila is among those who make achieving peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo difficult and complicated."
Treasury's move to sanction Kabila is part of a broader push to maintain a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed by Rwanda and DRC in Washington in December, which fell apart shortly after it was signed. Representatives from both countries met in Washington again last month and agreed to take steps to de-escalate tensions and revive the stalled peace process.
Treasury also imposed sanctions last month on the Rwanda Defence Force and top military officials over their role in ongoing fighting in eastern DRC and called for their immediate withdrawal from the mineral-rich region.
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