The United States has slapped targeted sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) as an entity along with four of its most senior military officials, accusing them of providing direct operational support to the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo despite a recent peace agreement.
These measures, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday, freeze any assets the designated parties hold in the U.S. and prohibit American persons or entities from engaging in transactions with them, aiming to pressure Rwanda into withdrawing forces and halting backing for M23.
The sanctions were imposed on yesterday, in Washington, primarily because Rwanda continued to train, equip, and fight alongside M23 rebels even after the December 4, 2025, signing of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, brokered by President Donald Trump and involving leaders from Rwanda and the DRC, which was intended to end hostilities in the mineral-rich region.
Just days following the accord’s signing ceremony presided over by President Trump, M23 fighters, enabled by RDF support, captured the Congolese city of Uvira in clear violation of the agreement, allowing the rebels to seize sovereign territory including provincial capitals like Goma and Bukavu along with key mining sites.
The U.S. State Department emphasized that “The continued backing from the RDF and its senior leadership has enabled M23 to capture DRC sovereign territory and continue these grave abuses,” while demanding “the immediate withdrawal of Rwanda Defence Force troops, weapons, and equipment” to uphold the historic deal.
Rwanda swiftly rejected the move, with officials stating the sanctions were “unjustly targeting only one party” and that they “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict,” while accusing the DRC of breaches through alleged indiscriminate drone attacks and offensives.
