The United States of America has imposed visa restrictions targeting Rwandan officials it accused of sponsoring M23 and undermining peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
M23 is a rebel militia group fighting in eastern Congo, and it is one of the main groups involved in the ongoing conflict there.
The Department of State, in a statement, said it “will impose visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials for fueling instability” in eastern DRC.
“By continuing to support M23 and violating the Washington Accords, these individuals are driving violence and undermining the stability of the entire Great Lakes Region.
“The United States expects all parties to the Washington Accords to fully implement their commitments,” the statement read.
This included the DRC immediately neutralizing the FDLR armed group and its associated groups and Rwanda withdrawing its troops and military equipment from the DRC.
“Only then will the immense economic potential of the Great Lakes region be realized.
“Individuals believed to be responsible for, complicit in, or directly or indirectly engaged in undermining or impeding a sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region will face consequence,” the statement said.
The U.S. visa restriction policy authorises the Secretary of State to render inadmissible any alien whose entry into the U.S. “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the US.”
Certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions.
Why it’s called “M23”
March 23 Movement (M23) is an armed rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It mainly operates in North Kivu Province, an area near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda.
The name “March 23” refers to March 23, 2009, the date of a peace agreement between the Congolese government and an earlier rebel group called the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
M23 members later claimed the government failed to keep that agreement, so they formed a new rebellion in 2012.
The PUNCH