Congo - US Sanctions M23 Rebel Leader Sultani Makenga

The US government has imposed sanctions against the leader of the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It said Sultani Makenga was being targeted for his use of child soldiers in the current conflict in DR Congo.

The move follows the UN's decision on Monday to add Col Makenga to its sanctions list.

Last month, a UN panel of experts said Rwanda and Uganda were supplying M23 with weapons and other support - allegations those countries deny.

The DR Congo government said more needed to be done to stop the rebellion in the east of the country, which borders Rwanda and Uganda.

The militants operating under the command of Sultani Makenga have conducted rapes throughout Rutshuru territory against women and children”

"It's a good start but it's totally inadequate," government spokesman Lambert Mende told the AFP news agency.

"Sultani did not invent this pseudo-mutiny in the east, [but remains] an instrument behind much wrongdoing," he said.

The M23 movement, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, has been fighting the Congolese government since April following an army mutiny.

Since then nearly half a million people have been displaced by fighting between the rebels and the army.