The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced a $5 million (£4 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of three key rebel leaders responsible for the ongoing violence in the country’s east.
Corneille Nangaa, a former electoral commission chief, now heads the Congo River Alliance, which includes the notorious M23 rebel group.
He has been seen addressing large rallies in territories under the group’s control. Alongside him, M23 military commander Sultani Makenga and political leader Bertrand Bisimwa are also wanted.
All three were sentenced to death in absentia last year by a military court for treason.
However, their capture appears unlikely, as the Congolese army has struggled against the Rwandan-backed rebels, who have seized vast mineral-rich areas, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu.
A separate $4 million (£3 million) bounty has also been placed on two exiled journalists and others labeled by the government as “accomplices.”
With the military unable to regain control, President Félix Tshisekedi is now pushing for international sanctions against Rwanda.
A UN report last year claimed that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating alongside M23 in DRC.
The conflict has led to thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
DRC has also been seeking U.S. support, offering access to its minerals—such as gold and coltan, which are used in electronics—in exchange for assistance against M23.
Presidential spokeswoman Tina Salama emphasized this point last month, stating on X that Tshisekedi was urging the U.S. to purchase resources from DRC, rather than from Rwanda, which “loots them from the DRC and smuggles them.”
Rwanda denies exploiting DRC’s minerals but has admitted to backing M23, arguing it is to prevent the conflict from spilling into its own territory.
Rwanda also accuses DRC of supporting the FDLR, an armed group linked to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.
Both M23 and Rwanda’s leadership are predominantly Tutsi. The Congolese government strongly denies working with the FDLR, which Rwanda has labeled a “genocidal militia.”
Source-BBC
