"From murdering innocent civilians to pillaging villages, the Lord’s Resistance Army is responsible for notorious acts of violence," the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Acting Director John Smith said in the release.
Smith further noted that Treasury Department’s action supports its broader effort to "dismantle this militia group and seek a more stable and secure future for the people of the Central African Republic and region."
The Treasury Department freezes any LRA assets within US jurisdiction and generally prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with the group.
It is unclear whether the shadowy group, consisting of several hundred fighters at most, has any assets that would be affected.
Escapees from LRA ranks have documented raids on villages of subsistence farmers, the seizure of young children subsequently raised as soldiers and girls forced to become wives to its leaders. The group is known for executing its enemies by using unusual torture methods.
In 2005 and 2006, the LRA fled its base in northern Uganda for the Central African Republic in part because of US involvement in efforts to capture its leader, Joseph Kony.
Since December 2013, the LRA has forced more than 20,000 Central African Republic citizens into refugees along with more than 3000 people from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the release.
