UN sanctions armed groups' leaders in eastern Congo

KINSHASA, July 17 - The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions on leaders of armed groups operating in eastern Congo including Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebels and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fights alongside the Congolese army.

• The conflict in eastern Congo is rooted in the fallout from neighbouring Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

• Fighting in eastern Congo intensified last year when the AFC/M23 rebel group, which the United Nations and Western governments say is backed by Rwanda, seized large swathes of eastern Congo.

• Rwanda denies backing the rebels.

• The U.N. Security Council said on Thursday a committee that oversees an arms embargo on Democratic Republic of the Congo added six individuals and two entities to its sanctions list.

• Among them were Corneille Nangaa, leader of the AFC rebel alliance that also includes M23, John Imani Nzenze, M23 chief of intelligence, and Gustave Kubwayo, an FDLR commander.

• Nzenze and Kubwayo were sanctioned last month by the United States which accused them of driving the conflict in the east despite mediation efforts by Washington.

• U.N. sanctions include an arms embargo, a travel ban and an assets freeze. REUTERS