US imposes sanctions on Rwandan firms

The US has imposed sanctions on Rwandan businessmen and companies it says are helping finance the M23 rebellion in the eastern DRC through the illicit trade in conflict minerals, signalling growing international pressure over a conflict spurred by the region’s vast mineral wealth, reports Al Jazeera. The US Department of the Treasury said the measures are intended to disrupt networks smuggling minerals out of the DRC to finance the Rwandan-backed armed group M23. The two individuals sanctioned are Jean Malic Kalima, chairman of Gasabo Gold Refinery, and Bosco Kayobotsi, the company’s managing director. The sanctioned companies are Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd, Bugambira Mines Ltd, Wolfram Mining and Processing Ltd, and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation Ltd, all based in Rwanda. ‘The M23 and its supporters are exploiting the DRC’s vast mineral resources – wealth that rightfully belongs to the Congolese people – to finance the purchase of weapons, pay combatants and sustain a destabilising insurgency that has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis,’ the Treasury said in a statement. Dady Saleh, an economist based in Kinshasa, said the conflict in the eastern DRC has long been shaped by competition over natural resources. He argued that external powers often pursue strategic economic interests in conflict zones, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US policy towards Venezuela as examples. The Treasury said the region’s mineral wealth should be a driver of development rather than conflict, arguing that curbing illicit mineral flows would create space for legitimate business while securing critical minerals for global industries.