DR Congo offers $5M reward for rebel leaders amid ongoing conflict

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has announced a $5 million reward for the capture of three M23 rebel leaders, including former electoral chief Corneille Nangaa, military commander Sultani Makenga, and political leader Bertrand Bisimwa. The trio was sentenced to death in absentia last year for treason.

Despite the bounty, arresting them remains unlikely as Rwandan-backed M23 forces continue to dominate eastern DR Congo, seizing major cities like Goma and Bukavu. Thousands have been killed, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

President Félix Tshisekedi is calling for international sanctions against Rwanda, which a UN report says has deployed troops to support M23. DR Congo has also urged the U.S. to source minerals directly from its territory instead of Rwanda, which it accuses of smuggling gold and coltan, essential for electronics.

Rwanda denies looting DR Congo’s resources but acknowledges supporting M23, citing security concerns over alleged Congolese ties to FDLR, a militia linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide—a claim DR Congo rejects.

About 4,000 Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in eastern Congo, where the rebels now control the capitals of the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, according to a report by U.N. experts.

M23 is the most powerful of the many armed groups vying for a foothold in Congo’s east, a region possessing trillions of dollars in largely untapped mineral resources crucial for global technology.