US follows UN's lead in sanctioning Congolese rebel leaders

The U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions on two leaders of the Congolese rebel group M23 on Tuesday, following the United Nations Security Council's lead.

The sanctions target two senior leaders of a group that has been accused of recruiting child soldiers and engaging in mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new sanctions freeze the assets of Baudoin Ngaruye and Innocent Kaina that are within U.S. jurisdiction. They also prohibit U.S. residents from conducting transactions with Ngaruye or Kaina.

“M23 leaders Ngaruye and Kaina are responsible for carrying our terrible acts of violence against civilians and children in the DRC,”  Adam Szubin, the director of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to bring about an end to this conflict.”

U.S. ally Rwanda has been accused of supporting the rebellion, prompting calls for the Obama administration to cut aid to the country.

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