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The United States has announced sanctions against a militia group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and two Chinese companies, as tensions rise over a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in the country’s east.
Washington said it would freeze all assets and restrict transactions involving Pareco-FF, an armed group that has opposed the Rwandan-backed M23 movement, which seized significant territory in eastern DRC earlier this year. The sanctions also target a Congolese mining company and two Hong Kong-based exporters accused of purchasing minerals from Pareco-FF.
Pareco-FF has been a major force in Rubaya, home to a mine that produces between 15 and 30 percent of the world’s coltan — a vital mineral used in electronics such as laptops and mobile phones. “The United States is sending a clear message that no armed group or commercial entity is immune from sanctions if they undermine peace, stability or security in the DRC,” said State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
The move comes as the Congolese army accuses M23 fighters of launching multiple assaults despite the ceasefire deal brokered earlier this year and praised by former US President Donald Trump, who hosted the DRC and Rwandan foreign ministers at the White House in June.
A senior US official admitted the situation remained difficult but insisted the ceasefire was not collapsing. “We are concerned anytime there is violence in the eastern DRC. No party has control over all of the actors, and there are an awful lot of armed groups there,” the official said, adding that M23 had not captured new territory in the past three months.
Pareco-FF emerged in 2022 in response to M23’s territorial advances, years after many of its fighters had been integrated into the Congolese military under a 2009 agreement.
