Washington Steps Up Pressure on Kigali
The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence, accusing it of backing the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The measures, announced on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, by the US Department of the Treasury, also target Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a financial institution serving Rwanda’s security forces.
The move marks a sharp escalation in Washington’s efforts to end fighting in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where clashes have continued despite a US-brokered peace deal signed late last year. The Treasury said the Rwandan ministry directed the Rwanda Defence Force to deploy thousands of troops across eastern DRC’s North and South Kivu provinces, where they conducted operations alongside M23 and provided the armed group with military equipment, supplies, logistical support and training.
“Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. He added that the United States was making good on a promise to hold Rwanda accountable for its commitments under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, the agreement signed on December 4, 2025, by the heads of state of both the DRC and Rwanda.
Key Takeaways
- The US has sanctioned Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence and the Zigama financial institution over alleged support for M23 rebels in eastern Congo.
- Washington says Rwandan troops deployed alongside M23 in North and South Kivu, breaching commitments under the 2025 Washington Accords.
- Congo welcomed the sanctions, while Rwanda pointed to unmet commitments on neutralising the FDLR militia.
What the Sanctions Target
According to the Treasury, Rwanda’s security apparatus supplied M23 with military equipment, logistics and training, helping the rebels capture key population centres and mining areas in North and South Kivu. Washington also accused Rwanda of introducing advanced weaponry to the battlefield, including surface-to-air missile systems and jamming equipment, which it said created risks for civilian aviation in eastern DRC.
The US government further accused M23 of committing human rights abuses in areas under its control, including extrajudicial killings, unlawful detention, torture and forced labour. M23 and the Rwandan army captured Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu respectively, in early 2025, further expanding the group’s territorial control in the mineral-rich region.
Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC.
The sanctions also target the alleged smuggling of illicit conflict minerals, a trade Washington says has helped sustain the fighting. The measures are part of a wider pattern of the US using economic pressure to push parties toward negotiated settlements, a tool it has also applied in other disputes — as seen in recent US import bans linked to forced-labour allegations.
A Peace Deal Under Strain
The sanctions come after a US-mediated peace agreement signed late last year by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington, alongside US President Donald Trump. At the signing, Trump said the deal was succeeding where others had failed, but fighting on the ground has continued, and the latest sanctions suggest Washington believes the agreement is not being honoured.
Congo’s ministry of foreign affairs welcomed the sanctions in a statement, saying they send a clear message that Rwanda cannot act with impunity. “Rwanda must honour its commitments under the Washington Accords, respect the UN Charter, and withdraw its tens of thousands of troops from the DRC,” the statement read.
Rwanda denies backing the M23 rebels, who are now formally known as the Refoundation of the Nation rebels, formerly AFC-M23. Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the Washington Accords contain commitments on the neutralisation of the FDLR, a Hutu militia rooted in the 1994 genocide, that remain unmet. “Rwanda remains ready to fully implement the Washington Accords, concurrently with the willingness of the DRC to fulfil those commitments, and with the mediator holding all parties accountable,” she said.
- Sanctioned: Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence and Zigama Credit and Savings Society
- Accusation: thousands of troops deployed alongside M23 in North and South Kivu
- Peace framework: the Washington Accords, signed December 4, 2025
- Flashpoint: control of Goma and Bukavu, captured in early 2025
Why Eastern Congo Matters
Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for three decades, most recently an armed insurgency by M23 that the Congolese government and UN experts say is backed by Rwanda. The region is rich in minerals, and control of mining areas has long been a driver of the fighting. Clashes have continued between Congolese forces and the rebels despite repeated US-backed diplomatic efforts to broker peace in the region’s conflicts.
Rwanda says it faces an existential threat from Congolese militias in eastern Congo founded by ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. Its foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow that Rwanda should not be a scapegoat for events in the DRC, describing the situation there as mainly a Congolese issue to be settled politically between Congolese parties.
What to Watch Next
What happens next will depend on whether the sanctions change calculations in Kigali and Kinshasa. Washington has demanded that Rwanda halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC, while Rwanda says it remains ready to implement the Washington Accords alongside the DRC fulfilling its own commitments. Congo, for its part, has welcomed the pressure and is pressing for a full withdrawal. If the fighting continues, further US measures — or a renewed diplomatic push — may follow; if it eases, the sanctions will be read as the lever that forced both sides back to the table.