The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwandan businessmen and companies accused of financing the M23 armed rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through the illicit trade of conflict minerals. The US Department of the Treasury stated the sanctions aim to disrupt networks smuggling minerals out of the DRC to support the Rwandan-backed M23 group.

The individuals sanctioned include Jean Malic Kalima, chairman of Gasabo Gold Refinery, and Bosco Kayobotsi, its managing director. The companies targeted 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 received by Al Jazeera on June 25.

Economist Dady Saleh from Kinshasa noted that the conflict in eastern DRC has long been driven by competition over natural resources, describing the wars there as "above all, economic in nature."

The Treasury emphasized that the region’s mineral wealth should promote development rather than conflict, arguing that curbing illicit mineral flows would foster legitimate business and secure critical minerals for global industries.

Residents like Nestor Sadiki from Goma, North Kivu province, expressed frustration, saying, “We have suffered so much because of our natural resources, which were given to us by the Creator, and that is not fair.”

According to the UN Panel of Experts, large volumes of coltan continue to be moved monthly from Rubaya into Rwanda following M23’s takeover of the mine in 2024.

Sources