UN sanctions six Congo rebels as violence escalates

The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on six high-ranking members of armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo amidst escalating clashes with government forces in the region.

Among the six individuals newly added to the sanctions list on Tuesday is Willy Ngoma, recognized as a spokesperson for the M23 rebels.

Known for appearing in videos alongside captured Congolese or Burundian soldiers during conflicts, Ngoma is now subject to asset freeze and travel ban measures, including within the DRC.

He becomes the fifth senior member of the M23 to face Security Council sanctions.

Michel Rukunda, known as "Makanika," has also been included on the sanctions list.

He leads the Twirwaneho armed group, primarily comprised of Tutsi members, which a UN panel of experts asserts is aligned with the M23.

Having defected from the Congolese army, Rukunda stands accused of involvement in the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict within the DRC, contravening international law, as per the UN sanctions declaration.

Rwandan Apollinaire Hakizimana, affiliated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), predominantly comprising Hutu members and established by former Tutsi genocide leaders in Rwanda, has been sanctioned.

The FDLR stands accused of perpetrating numerous grave offences against civilians in Congo.

Additionally, two leaders of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one Tanzanian and one Ugandan, have also faced sanctions.

Linked with the Islamic State group, their organization has been responsible for the deaths of several thousand civilians in eastern DRC and Uganda over the past decade.

William Yakutumba, commander of a coalition of armed groups generically known as "maimai", has also been added to the list of crimes committed by his militiamen against civilians.

The M23, a rebel group predominantly composed of Tutsi members, has faced accusations from both the UN and international human rights organizations of perpetrating numerous massacres and other atrocities in eastern DRC.

Following a period of relative calm, intense clashes reignited last month in the vicinity of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province in the DRC.

Accusations from the DRC, the United Nations, and Western nations point towards Rwanda's alleged support for the rebels, purportedly driven by a desire to control the region's extensive mineral wealth—a claim vehemently denied by Kigali.