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This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by Belga.

EU imposes sanctions on Rwandan military and M23 leaders

by AI | 18.Mar 2025 | Europe in brief AI

The European Foreign Ministers decided on Monday to impose individual sanctions on senior leaders of the Rwandan army and the rebel movement M23 due to the escalation of the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The EU imposes sanctions on Rwandan military and M23 leaders (Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)

The European sanctions target, among others, three commanders of the Rwandan army responsible for operations in the east of Congo. Rwanda supports the rebel movement M23, which has captured considerable parts of eastern Congo in recent months. The rebels control, among others, the cities of Goma and Bukavu.

The political leader of M23, the Congolese Bertrand Bisimwa, and four other top officials of the rebel movement are also placed on the sanctions list, as well as the executive director of the Rwandan mining company RMB and a gold refinery in Kigali. They are held jointly responsible for the illegal extraction and trade of resources in eastern Congo.

The nine Rwandans and Congolese on the sanctions list are no longer allowed to travel to the EU. Their potential assets on European territory, as well as those of the Rwandan gold refinery, are frozen.

In recent weeks, there have also been calls, including from Belgium and the European Parliament, to suspend the memorandum on resources with Rwanda. EU financial support for Rwandan troops carrying out an anti-terror mission in Mozambique is also under scrutiny. The support itself is not questioned, but rather the timing of the payment of the next installment.