The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda's Ministry of Defence, sharply escalating pressure on Kigali over its alleged military role in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting between Congolese forces and the M23 rebel group continues nearly a year after a US-brokered peace deal.

The US Treasury Department announced the measures on Wednesday, saying the ministry had sent thousands of troops into North and South Kivu provinces, where they operate alongside M23 and supply the group with equipment, logistics and training. Washington also sanctioned the Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a Rwandan financial institution linked to the military, which it says played a key role in channelling Rwanda's support to M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance (AFC).

Missiles, jammers and a warning to Kigali

In its statement, the Treasury said Rwandan forces had introduced advanced weaponry to the battlefield, including surface-to-air missile systems and jamming equipment, which it said created risks for civilian aviation over eastern Congo.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was blunt. "Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC," he said in a post on social media.

Regional outlets reporting on the designations said US officials also accuse Zigama of handling payments for military equipment and of helping move gold from rebel-held areas towards Kigali. The sanctions freeze any assets the two entities hold under US jurisdiction and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

A peace deal that has not stopped the guns

The move comes after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed a peace agreement in Washington late last year in the presence of US President Donald Trump, who hailed it as a success where others had failed. On the ground, however, the deal has done little to halt the fighting. M23 captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and other key towns in a rapid offensive last year and still holds large areas of the east.

It is the second round of US penalties on Rwanda's security establishment this year. In March, Washington sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force and four of its senior officers over support for M23, a decision Kigali dismissed at the time as one-sided and unjustified.

Rwanda has consistently denied arming or directing M23, although UN experts have reported evidence that Rwandan troops fought alongside the rebels. Kigali has long argued that its security concerns, chiefly the presence in Congo of the FDLR militia linked to the 1994 genocide, have not been addressed. Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo has previously said commitments on neutralising the FDLR under the Washington accords remain unmet. By Thursday afternoon there had been no detailed official response from Kigali to the new designations.

Why it matters for the region

  • Eastern Congo is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions displaced and about 100 armed groups competing for land and minerals.
  • Both Rwanda and DR Congo are members of the East African Community, and the conflict has strained trade and diplomacy across the bloc, which Kenya has tried to mediate in the past.
  • Sanctioning a government ministry, rather than individuals, is a rare step against a country Washington has long treated as a security partner in Africa.

Photos: Africanews/Euronews (Paul Kagame); US Department of the Treasury via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) (Scott Bessent). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.