The United States announced sanctions against a Rwandan official and a Rwandan-backed rebel in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo over a rapidly expanding war in the area. On Thursday, the departments of State and Treasury announced sanctions against Rwandan Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe and Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston,

Top United Nations officials in Africa have warned an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the offensive of Rwanda-backed rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo is threatening peace in the wider region.

Analysts say the deadly march by Rwanda-backed rebels across eastern Congo could widen into a regional conflict drawing in even more countries, and the two nations most involved in the mineral-rich ar