US Sanctions Armed Group Over Illicit Mining in Eastern DRC Amid Ceasefire Violations
The United States has imposed sanctions on Pareco-FF, an armed group accused of controlling a key coltan mining site in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2022 and 2024, as fighting flares despite a recent US-brokered ceasefire.
The US Department of the Treasury announced Tuesday it was blocking all interests and restricting transactions with Pareco-FF, which has opposed the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Washington says the group held the Rubaya mine in North Kivu until last year.
It also sanctioned Congolese mining company CDMC and two Hong Kong-based exporters East Rise and Star Dragon accusing them of sourcing and smuggling minerals from Rubaya through deals with Pareco-FF.
“The United States is sending a clear message that no armed group or commercial entity is immune from sanctions if they undermine peace, stability or security in the DRC,” said State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
Rubaya, now under M23 control, produces between 15 and 30 percent of the world’s coltan a vital mineral for electronics such as laptops and mobile phones. M23 is already under US sanctions.
Pareco-FF was formed in 2022 after many former Pareco fighters had integrated into the DRC army in 2009, emerging as M23 advanced in the region.
The sanctions were announced as the Congolese army and M23 traded accusations of violating a mid-July ceasefire deal signed in Doha.
Army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge accused M23 of “almost daily” attacks, calling them “an intentional and manifest violation” of the agreement’s permanent ceasefire clause.
The Congolese army warned it was ready to respond “to all provocations from this [M23 group] coalition, accustomed to violating agreements.”
The ceasefire followed a separate peace deal signed in Washington in June between the Congolese and Rwandan governments, which also strengthened US access to the region’s critical minerals.
