Congo rebel leader says sanctions, any minerals deal with US won’t stop fighting in the east

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The person of the rebels who captured 2 cardinal cities successful eastbound Congo says planetary sanctions and the planned minerals woody that the state has offered the U.S. volition not halt the warring betwixt their members and Congolese forces successful the hard-hit region.

With specified sanctions and a bounty placed connected the rebel leaders by Congo’s government, “we volition combat similar radical who got thing to suffer successful bid to unafraid the aboriginal of our country,” Corneille Nangaa, person of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) that includes the M23 rebel group, told The Associated Press.

Nangaa besides dismissed Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi’s comments past week that his state is looking for a minerals concern with the U.S. that volition bring bid and stableness for some countries.

Since launching a large escalation of their decadelong warring with the Congolese forces successful precocious January, the M23 rebels person captured the cities of Goma and Bukavu and respective towns successful eastbound Congo, forcing thousands of soldiers to either fly oregon surrender and prompting fears of determination warfare involving neighbors whose militaries are besides connected the ground.

Most of Congo’s mineral resources, estimated to beryllium worthy $24 trillion and captious to overmuch of the world's technology, stay untapped, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce past year.

The U.S. authorities has not publically spoken astir immoderate minerals woody being planned with Congo, which section observers accidental could beryllium akin to the Trump administration's connection for Ukraine to assistance extremity the warfare with Russia.

“This occupation tin beryllium amended resolved by the acrophobic Congolese, not foreigners with antithetic geopolitical agendas,” Nangaa told The AP implicit the weekend. “Trying to bribe U.S. with mines tin undermine U.S. credibility.”

Efforts to execute a ceasefire collapsed past week aft the rebels pulled retired from talks being facilitated by Angola, condemning European Union sanctions connected its leaders.

Nangaa besides rejected the result of a gathering betwixt Congolese and Rwandan leaders successful Qatar, saying specified a determination to execute bid without the group’s engagement would neglect and that the rebels tin lone person a dialog with Congo’s authorities if the state acknowledges their grievances and the basal causes of the conflict.

“Anything regarding america which are done without us, it’s against us,” Nangaa said.

Despite calls for a ceasefire, M23 rebels person present seized the cardinal municipality of Walikale that gives them power of a strategical roadworthy linking 4 provinces successful eastbound Congo — North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Maniema — efficaciously cutting disconnected Congolese service positions.

In seizing much territories beyond Goma — the lone metropolis they captured during their short-lived uprising successful 2012— the rebels purpose to “secure” citizens successful those places and combat the basal causes of the conflict, the rebel person said.

The astir potent of astir 100 equipped factions vying for power successful eastbound Congo, M23 is chiefly made up of taste Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army. The radical says it is defending taste Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan root from discrimination.

Although U.N. experts estimation determination are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces supporting the rebels successful Congo, Nangaa said the rebel confederation is autarkic and seeks to code "the basal origin of much than 30 years of instability successful our country.”