The US Treasury Department has decided to impose sanctions on Rwandan-based companies and businessmen for financing the M23 rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The decision indicates increasing international pressure on the trade in conflict minerals in the region.
The Treasury Department stated that the sanctions target networks that finance the Rwanda-backed armed group M23 by illegally extracting minerals from the DRC. The sanctions list includes Gasabo Gold Refinery's Chairman Jean Malic Kalima and General Manager Bosco Kayobotsi, as well as the companies Gasabo Gold Rafinery Ltd, Bugambira Mines Ltd, Wolfram Mining and Processing Ltd, and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation Ltd.
In a statement sent to Al Jazeera on June 25, the Treasury Department said, "M23 and its supporters are exploiting the DRC's vast mineral resources – wealth that rightfully belongs to the Congolese people – to finance weapons purchases, pay fighters, and sustain a destabilizing rebellion that has caused a serious humanitarian crisis."
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe described the US sanctions as "prejudiced" and "unfair", arguing that punitive measures do not resolve conflict. Nduhungirehe said that if sanctions alone could bring peace to eastern DRC, the war would have ended long ago, and that lasting solutions require shared regional responsibility rather than selective blame.
This rejection by Rwanda contradicts the findings of United Nations experts and Global Witness, which have documented the movement of conflict minerals from eastern DRC to international markets through regional supply chains. According to the UN Panel of Experts, since M23 seized the Rubaya mine in 2024, large quantities of coltan continue to be transported to Rwanda every month.
While the Kinshasa administration welcomed the sanctions, Government Spokesperson Patrick Muyaya accused Rwanda of profiting from the regional mineral flow by pointing to its refining capacity despite limited domestic production. In a post on X, Muyaya described Rwanda as "plunderer, broker and stolen goods dealer of resources obtained through massacres, rapes and bloodshed."
M23 rebels, who control large areas in eastern DRC, deny allegations that they benefit from the mineral trade. Kambere Muyisa Lumumba, spokesperson for the governor appointed by the AFC in Goma, said, "We have nothing to do with minerals. What matters to us is the survival of the people. We are fighting so that the people can feel safe."
Kinshasa-based economist Dady Saleh noted that the conflict in eastern DRC has long been shaped by competition over natural resources, saying, "Let there be no doubt. The wars we have experienced in the eastern region for 30 years are above all economic in nature." Saleh argued that external powers often pursue strategic economic interests in conflict zones.
Economist Saleh argued that sanctions should not overshadow the broader geopolitical interests shaping the conflict, saying, "Rwandan leaders had received a green light from the US. They were allowed to do what they wanted." Saleh added that Congolese should not see the US as a solution, and that the country's long-term future ultimately depends on internal leadership.
