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[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Breaking: US sanctions Rwanda Defense Ministry and Finance Institution for aiding M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo. This is an important step by the US to pressure Rwanda after Kabila joined the rebellion. Rwanda should withdraw its troops from eastern DRC and halt its command of the M23 rebellion.  https://t.co/IVopQ2sHca

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Breaking: our new investigation reveals a major shift in the funding of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), one of the deadliest armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ADF previously relied on external financing support from ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Now the ADF has become self-reliant, supplying most of their own financing through proceeds from conflict gold, cocoa production, racketeering, and kidnapping for ransom.

The investigation draws on more than 100 interviews with miners, traders, transporters, smugglers, financiers, armed-group collaborators, former hostages, security officials, government representatives, civil society actors, researchers, and international experts.

The UN Security Council, United States, United Kingdom, and European Union should investigate and sanction conflict gold supply chains that link the ADF to Ugandan trading, refining, and export networks.

Explore the findings and share: https://t.co/V1vhvgMQ4g

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Today, a bipartisan group of US Senators are calling on the National Basketball Association (@NBA) to reevaluate its commercial partnership with Rwanda, in light of Rwanda's invasion of eastern DR Congo. This follows years of work by The Sentry on this issue.
https://t.co/PpGE7PrWlS

Sasha Lezhnev, Senior Policy Advisor at the Sentry, said: "Rwanda's invasion of the DR Congo with up to 18,000 troops and command of an armed group that has recruited child soldiers and committed alleged war crimes should raise alarm bells with the NBA. It's time for the league and the Clippers to cancel their commercial relationships with Rwanda, just as Arsenal and Bayern Munich did last year."

The Sentry has reported for several years on the roles of Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC government in the conflict in eastern DRC. Earlier this year we launched the Blood on the Ball campaign to draw attention to sportswashing by governments involved in fueling some of the deadliest wars in the world, particularly Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates.

Some of the Senators' key quotes:

"We are increasingly alarmed by the NBA’s deepening relationship with Rwanda despite its invasion of the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), its continued support for a rebel group that has committed war crimes, and the resulting major shifts in U.S. policy toward Rwanda. The NBA risks becoming complicit in sportswashing by a Rwandan government that systematically abuses human rights. That is contrary to the spirit of American sports.”

“What is the NBA’s red line for accepting money from foreign governments that commit human rights abuses?”

“What specific changes in U.S. policy toward a country would lead the NBA to change or end a partnership with that country’s government? Do U.S. government actions against Rwanda since 2024 meet that standard?"

Thank you to @SenJeffMerkley (D-OR) and @MarshaBlackburn (R-TN) for raising this with Adam Silver, Mark Tatum, and the NBA. Amnesty International also has a petition to the NBA on this issue.

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

@Arsenal's @emirates sponsorship presents an major opportunity for @NYCMayor Mamdani to stand up against genocide in Sudan.

The UAE is sponsoring Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a genocidal militia in Sudan it has supplied with weapons and drones, according to multiple investigations. Meanwhile, 14 million people in Sudan have been displaced and 21 million face acute hunger.

Could Mamdani use his profile as one of the world’s most prominent Arsenal fans to urge the club’s American owners to reconsider the deal?

Read the full Op-Ed by The Sentry's @SashaLezh and John Prendergast in @guardian. #HumanRights #Sudan #Arsenal #Sportswashing

https://t.co/zc8avJprmT

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

2- Our 2023 report details the Wagner Group's influence and model in the Central African Republic. Learn more: https://t.co/h9HCtg2zEH

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Pavel Prigozhin, son of Yevgenzy Prigozhin, has expanded Wagner’s operations in the Central African Republic, continuing the group’s regime-protection-for-minerals model under new leadership, as reported by @WSJ. Pavel has also helped arrange gold exports through Belarus, with paperwork labeling Wagner’s gold as CAR state property.

As our executive director Justyna Gudzowska told the Wall Street Journal, Bangui fought to preserve this arrangement because “it had worked so well.”

Read more: 
https://t.co/Z5Me09puum

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Deeply disturbing. https://t.co/VkneUwL94J

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Formula One’s decision this week to bring a Grand Prix to Rwanda in the early 2030s could be an important moment for Africa.

But the 10-year agreement between @F1 and Rwanda also brings significant human rights risks. https://t.co/WCnenFatxy

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

On Oct. 14, U.N. Special Representative for #Libya @HannaTetteh told the Security Council that Libya spent $8.9 billion on fuel imports in the first nine months of 2026, and that 30–50% was lost to smuggling, worth $2.4–$4.4 billion.

Annualized, those figures imply losses of up to nearly $6 billion a year, consistent with the scale of fuel smuggling documented in The Sentry’s November 2025 report, Inside Job: Libya’s Fuel Smuggling Escalation.

The impact is clear: fuel smuggling drains public finances, enriches private interests, and leaves Libyans facing shortages.

Read our report: https://t.co/ZSzzdb5ZXT

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

We've reported on Rwanda's sportswashing before. If you want to learn more, our Blood on the Ball campaign provides facts, analysis, and opportunities to take action. Visit https://t.co/1tQNUrfDT8 to explore the resources.

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Rwanda is turning to Formula 1 to sportswash its reputation while its troops remain in eastern DRC and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels face allegations of war crimes. Thousands have been killed in the conflict, and the @UN has reported that Rwanda still has up to 18,000 troops in eastern DRC. Shame on @F1 for helping Rwanda polish its image. 

https://t.co/ezTypkUDSz

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Malian and Russian forces are back in #Kidal, six months after being pushed out by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and JNIM.

“Kidal is a symbol, and it is a powerful symbol,” said Justyna Gudzowska at The Sentry. “The big problem is not taking Kidal, but holding it.”

Read the latest in @FinancialTimes: https://t.co/rtSVeR14ch

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

We're encouraged by the enforcement action of the Dutch authorities of the European Timber Regulation following a recent investigation and seizure of 375 tons (equivalent to 16 truckloads) of illegally sourced azobé wood by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority.

These hardwood shipments came from Gabon, a country that forms part of the Congo Basin, the world's second-largest tropical rainforest. Illegal logging in the Congo Basin contributes to deforestation, which not only destroys wildlife habitats and worsens climate change, but also hurts local communities who rely on the forest for food, shelter, and income.
https://t.co/ZxM0Yo6ZdQ

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

3/ Russian exploration and Chinese lithium production are taking place in the same lithium-bearing zone in southern Mali, which is also being eyed by the Trump administration, as reported by @jeuneafrique.

Rosatom’s Bougoula target is about 65 km west of Bougouni and China’s Goulamina project is about 68 km west-southwest. The area is a security risk: UK company Kodal's site was attacked in August 2025 and a guard was killed. In February, India pulled out of a Rosatom-backed lithium project in Mali over security concerns. The US is also looking at the region: at a closed-door panel at the US embassy in Bamako in September, US officials “mainly wanted to know what could be exploited in the mining areas”.

https://t.co/NcYxbICcGT

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Russia's state nuclear giant @Rosatom says it will start building a lithium mine in southern #Mali in 2028. Rosatom’s subsidiary, Uranium One Group, says exploration in the Bougoula area has raised the resource estimate to 458,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate. A feasibility study is planned for 2027.

https://t.co/q4uSrGB3qs

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

2/ Our reporting has shown why Rosatom’s planned lithium mine is important. Our Mercenary Meltdown investigation found the Wagner Group failed to secure long-term mining licenses in Mali. Our follow-up investigation, Doubling Down, found that instead of using military inroads to win mining concessions, as Wagner tried to do in Mali, Russia is now using Russian businesses to support Africa Corps operations. The Bougoula project, held through Rosatom, is a perfect example of this pattern.

https://t.co/uvkQget15n

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

The NBA should also review its relationship w Rwanda. Rwanda pays millions to sponsor the NBA's Basketball Africa League, even as it backs M23. For more, see our piece “The NBA’s other human rights quagmire” https://t.co/Q8Kh0KIadU

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

Rwanda should withdraw its thousands of troops from eastern DR Congo & halt support for M23 which has committed grave human rights abuses in eastern DRC. https://t.co/3ioecTgqfT

[Bureau of African Affairs @AsstSecStateAF]

In a meeting with Rwandan Ambassador @AmbMukantabana, Assistant Secretary Garcia stressed that Rwanda must uphold its obligations under the Washington Accords, including ending all support to M23 and withdrawing its forces from the DRC. Full implementation is the foundation for lasting peace in the Great Lakes region and will open the door to new investment and deeper economic ties that bring mutual prosperity.

[The Sentry @TheSentry_Org]

More facts: Rwanda has smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars worth of minerals from the DRC. Its main gold refinery was sanctioned by the US & European Union for this reason https://t.co/wdEYJiq3nO