The United States has imposed sanctions on two Rwandan businessmen and four companies it says are financing the M23 rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through illegal mineral trading. The US Treasury said the measures target networks smuggling gold, coltan, and other minerals out of rebel-held territory in the DRC — a conflict-ridden region holding some of the world's most valuable mineral deposits — with proceeds used to fund weapons and fighters. While Rwanda's government has rejected the accusations as biased, UN experts and NGO Global Witness have documented cross-border mineral flows from M23-controlled mines into Rwandan export networks, and Congolese officials say the sanctions are a long-overdue recognition of what they describe as state-sponsored resource plunder.