US sanctions DR Congo’s former president over war in east

The US on Thursday announced sanctions against the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, over alleged support for the AFC/M23 rebels.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a statement, accused Kabila of providing financial support to the AFC to influence the political situation in eastern Congo and of encouraging Congolese troops to defect and join the rebel ranks.

The sanction measures provide in particular for the freezing of Kabila’s assets in the US as well as a formal ban on any American person or entity from doing business with him.

“President Trump is paving the way for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he has been clear that those who continue to sow instability will be held accountable,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

M23 has been at the center of the conflict in eastern Congo. The rebel group allegedly supported by neighboring Rwanda, according to the UN and Western nations, controls significant territory in eastern Congo, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were seized early in 2025.

Congo and Rwanda inked a historical peace deal in Washington DC on Dec. 4, meant to end the decades-long conflict in the eastern part of the country.

But fighting continued this week, triggering fresh displacement of populations, according to local sources.

Scott said: “Treasury will continue to use its full range of tools to support the integrity of the Washington Accords.”

Kabila ruled the country from 2001 to 2019. Since 2023, he has lived in South Africa.

But in early 2025, he made public appearances in eastern Congo and expressed his interest in returning home to "contribute to finding a solution" to the ongoing crisis.

A military court in Congo last year sentenced Kabila to death in absentia on charges of treason and war crimes.