US slaps sanctions on C.Africa rebel leader Ali Darassa

Washington  

  The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a rebel leader in the Central African Republic, vowing to bring accountability in the country's brutal war.

The Treasury Department said it was seizing any US assets and criminalising transactions with Ali Darassa, leader of the so-called Union for Peace (UPC) rebel group.

The Treasury Department said that UPC militants have killed, tortured, raped and displaced thousands of people since 2014.

The UPC, mostly active in the country's east, left the main alliance of rebels in April and refused to join other groups in a ceasefire declared in October by President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

"The UPC uses killings, kidnapping and other violence to achieve its goals," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

"We urge UPC and all parties to the conflict to heed President Touadera's October 15 ceasefire declaration, immediately halt combat operations and begin the dialogue for peaceful political solutions," Blinken said in a statement.

The government has wrested back control of parts of the country with support of Rwandan troops and Russia's Wagner paramilitary group.

UN experts have also accused the Wagner Group of widespread atrocities and the United States has previously imposed sanctions on the unit, while recently warning Mali not to accept an offer to hire the Russians.

The United States earlier imposed sanctions as it seeks to hunt down Lord's Resistance Army founder Joseph Kony in connection with abuses around central Africa.