United States targets armed group leaders who fuel conflict, displacement
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Congo River Alliance, known by its French name Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a coalition of rebel groups that seeks to overthrow the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is driving political instability, violent conflict, and civilian displacement. The principal member of AFC is the U.S.- and UN-sanctioned March 23 Movement (M23), an armed group with a long history of destabilizing the DRC’s North Kivu province and perpetrating human rights abuses. OFAC is also targeting individuals and entities associated with AFC, including Bertrand Bisimwa, the president of M23; Twirwaneho, an AFC-affiliated armed group in the DRC’s South Kivu province; and Charles Sematama, a commander and deputy military leader of Twirwaneho.
“Today’s action reinforces our commitment to hold accountable those who seek to perpetuate instability, violence, and harm to civilians to achieve their political goals,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We condemn AFC and its affiliates, including M23, for fueling this deadly conflict and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC.”
In addition, OFAC is redesignating Corneille Yobeluo Nangaa (Nangaa), who launched AFC alongside the leaders of M23. Nangaa is the former president of the DRC’s National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) and was originally sanctioned by OFAC in 2019 for engaging in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the DRC. Today, he is also being sanctioned for acting as a leader of AFC. The designation of AFC and its affiliates and the redesignation of Nangaa are being carried out pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13413, as amended by E.O. 13671.
CONGO RIVER ALLIANCE: A Driver of Political INSTABILITY IN Eastern DRC
The Congo River Alliance (Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)) is a political-military coalition that seeks to overthrow the DRC government. At its launch on December 15, 2023, AFC invited armed groups and members of the Congolese military to join its rebellion. AFC conducts advocacy and public outreach on behalf of M23 and seeks to extend its armed insurgency beyond eastern DRC. AFC is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended by E.O. 13671 (“E.O. 13413, as amended”), for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of M23.
Corneille Yobeluo Nangaa (Nangaa) is the former president of CENI and was a key figure in the delay of the DRC’s 2016 elections, which were postponed until 2018. Nangaa is the coordinator of AFC, which he launched alongside senior M23 officers. Nangaa is engaging in efforts to popularize AFC and promote its goal of overthrowing the DRC government, in collaboration with M23. OFAC designated Nangaa on March 21, 2019, pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended, for engaging in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the DRC. Today, OFAC is also designating Nangaa pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended, for being a leader of AFC.
m23: A Rebellion at the center of recurring Violence in North Kivu
AFC’s primary member is M23, a Rwanda-backed rebel group that seized vast swathes of eastern DRC in 2012 and briefly controlled the border city of Goma, before fleeing to neighboring Rwanda and Uganda in 2013. OFAC designated M23 on January 3, 2013, pursuant to E.O. 13413, for committing serious violations of international law involving the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict in the DRC, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction, and forced displacement, and receiving arms and related materiel, including military aircraft and equipment, or advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to military activities in the DRC.
M23 reemerged in late 2021 with the help of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). In February 2024, M23 cut off the last remaining overland supply route to Goma, and in May 2024, M23 seized Rubaya, a town at the center of an expansive mining area for coltan, a key material used in the production of electronic devices. The security crisis prompted by M23’s rebellion has displaced around 1.5 million people according to the International Organization for Migration. Over the course of its rebellion, M23 has perpetrated human rights abuses, including killings, attacks against civilians, and sexual violence. On November 29, 2022, M23 conducted a series of killings in the town of Kishishe in North Kivu, where M23 combatants looted civilian property and raped women. Promoting accountability for conflict-related sexual violence committed by groups such as M23 is a top priority for President Biden, who signed a Presidential Memorandum on November 28, 2022 that directs the U.S. government to strengthen the exercise of its financial, diplomatic, and legal tools to address this pernicious problem.
Bertrand Bisimwa (Bisimwa) is the civilian president of M23. He stood alongside Nangaa at the launch of AFC and is central to AFC and M23’s collaboration. Bisimwa engages in public outreach on behalf of M23 and facilitates the establishment of rebel administrations in territories controlled by M23. Bisimwa is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended, for being a leader of M23.
Twirwaneho: Extending AFC’s Rebellion TO South Kivu
Twirwaneho is an armed group in South Kivu province that is a member of AFC and collaborates with M23. The leader of Twirwaneho is Michel Rukunda (Rukunda), who was sanctioned by OFAC, along with other Congolese armed group leaders, on December 8, 2023 pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended. In February 2024, the UN Security Council’s 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee also added Rukunda to its sanctions list. Twirwaneho is responsible for attacks against civilians and forced recruitment, including of minors.
Twirwaneho is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended, for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law in or in relation to the DRC.
Charles Sematama (Sematama) is a commander and deputy military leader of Twirwaneho. Sematama deserted from the Congolese military in February 2021 and leads Twirwaneho operations, including the armed group’s forcible recruitment of minors. Sematama is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13413, as amended, for being a leader of Twirwaneho.
sANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.
In addition, the prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.
Click here for more information on the individuals and entities designated today.
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