U.S. imposes financial sanctions on CAR militia leaders

The U. S. imposed financial sanctions against two militia leaders accused of collaborating on violence intended to destabilise the Central African Republic, which is struggling to end years of division and bloodshed.

John Smith, director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the assets of Abdoulaye Hissene and Maxime Mokom were both frozen, although it was not clear whether either holds any property within U.S. jurisdiction.

Generally, U.S. nationals are also prohibited from transactions with those under sanctions.

Hissene is a chief in the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition that ousted then-President Francois Bozize in 2013. Mokom is an leader in the Christian militias known…