04 10 13 AFP: US slaps sanctions on Rwanda over rebel use of child soldiers

 

Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States was invoking the Child Soldiers
Protection Act in sanctioning Rwanda,
as Washington
seeks to end "any involvement in the recruitment of child soldiers."

The
sanctions were linked to actions by the M23, a group of former rebels who
were integrated in the army in 2009 but mutinied last year.

"We
will continue to have discussions with the Rwandan government on that
issue," Thomas-Greenfield said.

The M23 was
founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army
under a 2009 peace deal.

In
April 2012, the M23 turned their guns on their former comrades and
launched the latest rebellion to ravage DR Congo's mineral-rich and
conflict-prone east.

The
United Nations accuses Rwanda
of backing the M23, a charge the country has adamantly denied.

The UN
and various rights groups have accused the M23 of atrocities,
including rape and murder, in addition to the use of child soldiers, in a
conflict that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee.