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The European Union imposed sanctions on nine individuals and a gold refinery today, Monday, in connection with a Rwanda-backed rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, just a day before scheduled peace talks in Angola between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels and the Congolese government.
The sanctions targeted the political leader of the M23, Bertrand Bisimwa, and Rwandan army leaders, as well as the CEO of Rwanda's mining, oil, and gas authority, and the Gasabo gold refinery in Kigali, which the EU accused of illegally exporting natural resources from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amid a wave of diplomatic activity, the M23 rebel alliance confirmed it would send a five-member delegation to the talks set for tomorrow, Tuesday, in Luanda, which could represent the first direct negotiations between M23 and the Congolese government.
The office of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi stated on Sunday that Kinshasa would send representatives to Luanda, marking a retreat from the government's long-standing commitment not to negotiate with the armed group, which it has dismissed as merely a front for the Rwandan government.
Pressure has increased on Tshisekedi to negotiate with M23 following a series of battlefield defeats since January, with rebels seizing the two largest cities in eastern Congo and several smaller towns.
The fighting has resulted in the deaths of at least 7,000 people this year, with hundreds of thousands displaced, according to the Congolese government.
The conflict stems from the spillover of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 into Congo and the struggle for control over Congo's vast mineral resources, many of which are used in batteries for electric vehicles and other electronic products.
The United Nations and international powers have accused Rwanda of supplying arms and sending soldiers to fight alongside the Tutsi-majority M23 movement, while Rwanda claims its forces are acting in self-defense against the Congolese army and militias hostile to Kigali.
The Rwandan government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the EU sanctions.
Western countries have taken measures against Rwanda due to the conflict, including withholding development aid from Britain and Germany, but Kigali has remained defiant.