By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s defence ministry over the country’s involvement in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where fighting has continued between the Congolese government and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels despite Washington-backed peace efforts.
The sanctions on Wednesday come after a U.S.-mediated peace agreement was signed late last year by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump.
Following the signing of the deal, Trump proudly announced: “Today, we’re succeeding where so many others have failed.”
However, these efforts have so far had little impact on the situation on the ground, where fighting continues.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement on Wednesday said it was imposing sanctions on the Rwandan ministry of defence, which it said “deployed thousands of troops across eastern DRC’s North and South Kivu provinces, where they conduct operations alongside M23 and provide the armed group with military equipment, supplies, logistical support, and training.”
Rwandan authorities have also “introduced advanced weaponry to the battlefield, including surface-to-air missile systems and jamming equipment, creating risks for civilian aviation in eastern DRC,” the statement added.
Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told The Associated Press that “Rwanda remains ready to fully implement the Washington Accords, concurrently with the willingness of the DRC to fulfill those commitments, and with the mediator holding all parties accountable.”
She said the commitments from the DRC “are wholly unmet, and with no accountability,” including the promise to neutralize forces.
M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
M23 took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as well as other key cities in eastern Congo in a lightning assault last year.
Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23. Rwanda’s government has consistently denied backing armed groups in Congo, though U.N. experts have said they found evidence that Rwandan troops have fought alongside and directed M23.
“Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on social media on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. also announced sanctions on Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a Rwandan financial institution which it said has “played a key role in facilitating Rwanda’s support” to M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance.
