France has frozen the financial assets of a Congolese general placed on the UN's sanctions list for supporting a massacre of civilians by a suspected militia in 2014 and 2015, according to a notice published Sunday.

The government will freeze the "funds and financial resources" in France belonging to General Muhindo Akili Mundos, an ally of President Joseph Kabila, as well as those of three chiefs of other militia groups.

The notice did not say how much money or other assets they currently have in France.

The United Nations imposed sanctions on the general on Friday over the killings of at least 400 civilians in the Beni region of the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group, from August 2014 to June 2015.

The UN's peacekeeping mission in the country said Mundos, the commander of the Congolese army's operations against the militia, "recruited and equipped ex-combatants from local armed groups to participate in extrajudicial executions and massacres by the Allied Democratic Forces".

The three militia leaders on the sanctions list include Guidon Shimiray Mwissa, from the NDC-R militia, who is accused of recruiting "child soldiers".

Lucien Nzambamwita (also known as Andre Kalume), a military leader from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and Gedeon Kyungu, who is "implicated in serious human rights abuses", are also on the list.

The UN says the four men "pose a threat to the peace, stability, and security of the DRC".

UN imposes sanctions on DR Congo general for 'massacres'
Kinshasa (AFP) Feb 2, 2018 - The UN imposed sanctions on a Congolese general on Friday for supporting the massacre of civilians by a suspected militia in eastern DR Congo.

General Muhindo Akili Mundos, an ally of President Joseph Kabila, is one of four names to be added on to the UN sanctions committee list, said MONUSCO, the organisation's peacekeeping mission in the country.

General Mundos was officially commander of the Congolese army's military operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group, in the country's Beni region from August 2014 to June 2015.

At least 400 civilians were massacred in attacks attributed to the ADF in that period, and the UN says Mundos was involved.

"Under the command of Mundos, the FARDC (Congolese army) did not intervene to prevent" the ADF from targeting civilians, said a copy of UN documents seen by AFP.

"Mundos recruited and equipped ex-combatants from local armed groups to participate in extrajudicial executions and massacres by the Allied Democratic Forces," the UN said.

Three militia leaders are also on the UN sanctions committee list, including Guidon Shimiray Mwissa, from the NDC-R militia, who is accused of recruiting "child soldiers".

Lucien Nzambamwita (also known as Andre Kalume), a military leader from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Gedeon Kyungu, who is "implicated in serious human rights abuses", are also on the list.

The UN document says the four men "pose a threat to the peace, stability, and security of the DRC".

"These sanctions cover a very wide range of targeted measures such as arms embargos, travel bans and even financial or diplomatic measures," the UN said on its website.

34 militiamen handed over to DR Congo military: army
Bukavu, Dr Congo (AFP) Feb 2, 2018 - Thirty-four Congolese militiamen have been handed over to the Democratic Republic of Congo by officials in Burundi, the Congolese military said on Friday.

The militiamen belong to the rebel Yakutumba group and were handed over to the Congolese authorities by the Burundi National Intelligence Service (SNR), Burundian officials said.

The group had crossed into Burundi while the Congolese army was conducting operations in a nearby region, Burundian police said on Thursday.

"Thirty-four militiamen who surrendered to Burundian security forces at Rumonge were extradited Wednesday from this region and are currently in the hands of the Congolese army at a secret location," said Captain Dieudonne Kasereka, deputy spokesman for the Congolese army in South Kivu province.

Among those captured include "a captain who commanded the naval force of Yakutumba and a lieutenant of the Congolese army who joined Yakutumba last November", Kasereka added.

Although the DR Congo military said 34 militiamen were handed over, an anonymous source in Burundi said four "wounded" rebels remained in the country being treated in hospital.

In the last ten days, thousands of Congolese have crossed Lake Tanganyika and taken refuge in Burundi as clashes raged between DR Congo government forces and rebels in the troubled eastern province of South Kivu.

The DR Congo government has announced it is waging "war" against two militias in the east -- the Yakutumba and the Ugandan Islamist rebels of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF).

The Congolese Yakutumba are in South Kivu while the ADF are active in North Kivu.

Both regions border Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

Rival militia groups have long held sway over large areas in the two provinces, often competing for their rich mineral resources.

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