US Slaps Sanctions On Rwanda Military Over DR Congo ‘Violation’

The United States said Monday it was imposing sanctions on Rwanda’s military, taking action against a longtime partner which it accused of violating a peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The mineral-rich east of DRC has seen decades of conflict, but violence dramatically flared last year when the Rwandan-backed M23 group made huge gains, capturing strategic mines and towns and displacing thousands.

President Donald Trump in December brought together the leaders of Rwanda and the DRC to sign a peace deal, predicting a “great miracle”.

But just days afterwards, the State Department noted, the M23 captured the key Congolese city of Uvira.

The United States said it was imposing sanctions against the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and four officers including the army chief of staff, Vincent Nyakarundi, saying they were critical to M23 gains.

“M23, a US- and UN-sanctioned entity, is responsible for horrific human rights abuses, including summary executions and violence against civilians, including women and children,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“The continued backing from the RDF and its senior leadership has enabled M23 to capture DRC sovereign territory and continue these grave abuses,” he said in a statement.

“As President Trump has made clear, the United States is prepared to use all available tools to ensure the DRC and Rwanda deliver on the promises of this historic agreement.”

Trump had earlier sounded positive about working with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a veteran leader who has also been willing to take in migrants deported from the United States, a top political goal for Trump.

The December peace deal had been hailed by Trump as a way to secure critical minerals from the DRC.

The sanctions will block any assets that the RDF or the four officers hold in the United States and criminalise any financial transactions with them.

In a separate statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the US expected “the immediate withdrawal of Rwanda Defence Force troops, weapons, and equipment”.

It noted that the RDF had “provided direct operational support to M23 and its affiliates”, including advanced weaponry such as GPS jamming systems, air defence equipment and drones.

“Thousands of RDF troops are deployed across eastern DRC, where they actively engage in combat operations and facilitate M23’s control of territory,” the statement added.

– ‘Misrepresent reality’ –

Rwanda said the US sanctions were “unjustly targeting only one party”, and insisted in a statement late Monday that such a move “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict”.

It said that “consistent and indiscriminate drone attacks and ground offensives constitute clear violations of ceasefire agreements by the DRC”.

Rwanda has insisted it is only involved in the eastern DRC to help protect against an enemy militia formed from the remnants of those who committed the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis, denying direct military involvement despite considerable evidence from United Nations observers and others.

In turn, it has demanded that the Kinshasa government clamp down on Hutu militants from the genocide, who targeted ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Outmatched on the ground by the better-equipped M23 and Rwandan troops, Kinshasa’s forces have relied in part on US pressure on Kigali to stabilise the front line, regional specialists and security sources told AFP.

Full text of the U.S. accusations against Rwanda and its military, RDF:

“The RDF is actively supporting, training, and fighting alongside the March 23 Movement (M23), a U.S.- and United Nations (UN)-sanctioned armed group responsible for human rights abuses and a mass displacement crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

The RDF has supported M23 as it seized territory in eastern DRC, including provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu, along with strategic mining sites in eastern DRC. M23’s offensives would not have been possible without the active support and complicity of the RDF and key senior officials.

The Rwanda Defence Force has provided direct operational support to M23 and its affiliates. 

The RDF has introduced advanced military equipment to the battlefield in eastern DRC, including GPS jamming systems, air defense equipment, drones, and additional materiel.  Thousands of RDF troops are deployed across eastern DRC, where they actively engage in combat operations and facilitate M23’s control of territory. 

The RDF also provides training to M23 fighters at RDF military centers and supports its recruitment efforts, including the recruitment of refugees.

With support from the RDF, M23 has engaged in extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture. In January 2025, the RDF carried out attacks against Congolese armed forces, the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC, and defensive positions of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC. In exchange for its support for M23, Rwanda has gained access to mineral-rich areas of eastern DRC that contribute to the financing of M23’s armed rebellion.”