By Jean-Pierre A
The United States Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Rwanda’s armed forces and four senior commanders for allegedly backing the M23 rebels in the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid renewed fighting.
The US has accused the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) of violating the Washington Peace Accords, signed by President Paul Kagame and President Félix Tshisekedi late last year.
The peace accords were hailed as a key step toward ending the armed conflict in DR Congo and the wider Great Lakes region. However, some observers argued that the US-mediated agreement was linked to the region’s vast mineral resources.
According to a press release from the US Department of the Treasury, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF)—the military of Rwanda—and four of its senior officials.
“The RDF is actively supporting, training, and fighting alongside the March 23 Movement (M23), a US- 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 press release issued on Monday, March 2, stated.
The US Department of the Treasury alleges that the RDF supported M23 as it seized territory in eastern DRC, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, along with strategic mining sites.
In a statement released on Monday, Rwanda’s government said it regrets what it described as “one-sided sanctions.”
“The sanctions issued today by the United States, unjustly targeting only one party to the peace process, misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” said the Office of the Government Spokesperson.
Rwanda’s government also accused the DRC of violating the ceasefire. The statement added: “Consistent and indiscriminate drone attacks and ground offensives constitute clear violations of ceasefire agreements by the DRC and continue to cost many lives.”
In recent months, fighting has intensified in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces between DRC armed forces and M23 rebels.
According to the US government, M23’s offensives would not have been possible without the active support and complicity of the RDF and key senior officials.
“President Trump is the Peace President, and the Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that the parties to the Washington Accords uphold their obligations,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
Last year, President Donald Trump hosted DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to sign the Washington Accord for Peace and Prosperity, also known as the Washington Accords. The agreement was expected to bring lasting peace and end the armed conflict in the volatile region. However, fighting has continued in both North Kivu and South Kivu.
The US Department of the Treasury further stated that, as a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
