US targets ADF members for sanction
Five members of the Ugandan rebellion of the ADF are targeted by US sanctions, including the leader of the movement, Musa Baluku.
The United States announced on December 10, 2019, new sanctions against 18 individuals accused of human rights violations in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Washington has decided
to target members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). This Ugandan rebellion, that has been operating in eastern DRC for more than 20 years, is responsible for numerous massacres in recent months in the Beni region.
In total, five members of the ADF are targeted by these sanctions, including the leader of the movement, Musa Baluku. The latter took the rebel group commander four years ago, after the arrest of the previous leader.
He is accused of having radicalized the movement and a rapprochement with the Islamic State group.
In a statement, Washington accuses the ADF of committing serious human rights violations, including the kidnapping and use of child soldiers.
These sanctions include freezing the assets of these individuals in the United States and prohibiting any US citizen from trading with them.
According to a former member of the UN group of experts in the DRC, these sanctions may have little impact in a short term. But they are a sign that Washington will take very seriously the violence of recent months
in the Beni Region.
