Rebel leaders added to UN sanctions list over Congo
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, March 3 (Reuters) - A U.N. sanctions committee has decided to impose travel bans and asset freezes on four leaders of a Rwandan Hutu rebel group active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, France's U.N. mission said on Tuesday.
The four leaders of the FDLR rebels will face the U.N. sanctions in line with Security Council resolution 1857 for undermining the fragile peace process in eastern Congo, where fighting caused more than half a million people to flee late last year.
The sanctions committee's decision was based on a recommendation submitted by France, Britain, Belgium and the United States, the French mission said in a statement.
"This designation bears testimony to the international community's determination to fight against those who oppose the disarmament of rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo," it said.
"It is also important to emphasize that for the first time ... three of these leaders are sanctioned for the recruitment of children and for sexual violence committed by groups that they commanded."
The four Rwandan Hutu leaders are Callixte Mbarushimana, Stanislas Nzeyimana, Pacifique Ntawunguka and Leopold Mujyambere.
In December a U.N. panel of independent experts urged the sanctions committee to add the names of more individuals and entities to its blacklist for supporting Congolese and Rwandan rebels active in eastern Congo.
The panel said elements of the Congolese army had provided support for Rwandan Hutu rebels in North Kivu province, some of whom are believed to have taken part in the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda.
Among those accused in December of providing support to rebels loyal to renegade Congolese General Laurent Nkunda was Tribert Rujugiro, an adviser to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Nkunda's Tutsi rebels routed the Congolese army and captured swathes of territory in eastern Congo before Nkunda was arrested in Rwanda in January. (Editing by Chris Wilson)
