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Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwandan businessmen and companies who allegedly help support the M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through the illegal trade of unrelated minerals, which shows that countries are forced to deal with the conflict that arose because of the rich wealth in the region.
The US Treasury Department said the measures are aimed at disrupting networks that smuggle mines from the DRC to support the Rwandan-backed M23 militia.
The two people who have been punished are Jean Malic Kalima who is the chairman of the Gasabo Gold Refinery company and Bosco Kayobotsi who is the director of the company. The companies that have been approved are Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd, Bugambira Mines Ltd, Wolfram Mining and Processing Ltd, and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation Ltd, all based in Rwanda.
“M23 and its supporters are using the vast resources of the DRC – resources that belong to the Congolese people – to finance the purchase of weapons, to pay fighters and to support terrorists who have created a serious humanitarian crisis,” the Treasury said in a statement obtained by Al Jazeera on June 25.
Salt-driven friction
Dady Saleh, an economist in Kinshasa, said the conflict in eastern DRC has already started because of competition over natural resources.
“There should be no mistake. The wars we have been facing for 30 years in the eastern part of the country, above all, are economic,” he told Al Jazeera.
He added that foreign powers often pursue economic interests in conflicting environments, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US policy in Venezuela as examples.
The Treasury said the region’s economy should promote development rather than fighting conflict, saying that ending the salt crisis would lead to more legitimate businesses and access to minerals that are vital to the world’s industries.
Saleh said the recent sanctions show that international opinion on Kigali may be changing.
“The natural resources of the DRC have been stolen for many years, before and after the country’s independence. Today, that theft has increased and is being carried out through proxies,” he said.
For many Congolese, the sanctions are also seen as a long-overdue acknowledgment of what they say has been going on for decades.
“We are happy that the US is slowly beginning to understand the methods that Kigali is using in our territory and that the masks are starting to come down slowly. We have suffered a lot because of the nature that the Creator gave us, and this is not true,” said Nestor Sadiki, a resident of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Rwanda has denied the charges
Rwandan officials have denied charges of selling mines or supporting armed groups.
Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe described the US sanctions as “biased” and “unjust”, saying that the sanctions do not end the conflict.
He added that if sanctions alone could bring peace to eastern DRC, the war would have ended a long time ago, and lasting solutions require regional responsibility sharing rather than individual blame.
Evidence of transboundary salt movement
Rwanda’s denial is in contrast to the findings of experts from the United Nations and Global Witness, who have documented the migration of salt from eastern DRC through small areas to international markets.
The United Kingdom said its investigation traced the links between mining in eastern DRC and export networks in the region, noting that most of the goods are controlled by a few companies.
It said smuggled minerals could enter global energy chains before reaching consumers.
According to the UN Panel of Experts, large volumes of coltan continue to be transferred every month from Rubaya to Rwanda following the takeover of the M23 mine in 2024.
The Treasury has said that ending the illegal trade in minerals is important because it funds armed groups, leads to forced labor and violence, and disrupts legal mining.
“The United States remains committed to a peaceful and prosperous Great Lakes region, with an unrestricted mining sector or unregulated investment,” the Treasury said.
The Congolese response and the location of the rebellion
Kinshasa welcomed the warnings, saying they confirmed long-held claims that Rwanda benefits from mines removed from rebel-held territory.
Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya criticized Rwanda for profiting from mineral flows in the region, saying that its refining activity is too small.
He wrote on X: “Government, Rwanda, which is doing very well in the work of extortionists, middlemen and fences of wealth obtained through murder, rape and bloodshed,” adding that the punishments undermined what he called “state-sponsored theft”.
The M23 rebels, who control large areas of eastern DRC, deny profiting from the mining trade, saying the miners are selling the mines themselves while their fighters provide security around the mining sites. The group also accuses Kinshasa of using salt smuggling cases to disrupt military and diplomatic operations.
“We are not interested in minerals. What is important to us is people’s survival. We are fighting for people to be safe…we are fighting for powerful institutions, not powerful people,” Kambere Muyisa Lumumba, spokesperson for the AFC-appointed ambassador in Goma, told Al Jazeera.
Although international pressure on Rwanda is increasing, Saleh said sanctions should not hide the political interests behind the conflict.
“The Rwandan leaders had a green light from the US. They are allowed to do whatever they want,” he said, describing Washington’s recent actions as a “double-edged sword”.
Despite the increasing number of countries, he said the future of the distant country depended on domestic leadership.
“We Congolese people should not think that the Americans are our solution. They are part of the solution to this problem, just like the Chinese and the rest of the world. We have to live in our situation,” he said.
