US sanctions Rwandan defence ministry over M23 ties

The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the Rwandan defence ministry and a financial institution in that country over their alleged ties to the M23 armed group fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Today, the United States makes good on President (Donald) Trump’s promise to hold Rwanda accountable for its commitments under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity,” said treasury secretary Scott Bessent, referring to an agreement signed in December between Rwandan and DR Congo leaders.

“Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC.”

With Rwandan help, the M23 movement has seized swathes of the eastern DRC — home to valuable minerals coveted by world powers — since it took up arms again in 2021.

Despite the US-brokered truce in December, fighting has continued to rage in a region that has been torn apart by conflict for three decades and faces an Ebola epidemic.

An offensive by the M23 and the Rwandan army in eastern DRC in early 2025 resulted in the capture of Goma and Bukavu, capitals of North and South Kivu provinces.

Since then, the front line has stabilized, though South Kivu in particular has seen fierce clashes.

While UN experts have reported that Rwanda still has thousands of troops helping the M23 and exerts de facto control over the group, the DRC’s neighbor has long denied offering the M23 military support.

Rwanda insists that it faces an existential threat from a Congolese militia founded by ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.

US state department spokesman Tommy Pigott, however, said that “thousands” of Rwanda Defense Force troops continued to fight alongside M23 in North and South Kivu provinces.

Wednesday’s US action included blocking financial transactions with Zigama Credit and Savings Society, the treasury department said, calling it a financial institution that serves Rwanda’s security services.

The US sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force, which falls under the defence ministry, in March.