US Sanctions Rwanda Over Support for M23 Rebels

The United States Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on October 28, 2026, against the Rwandan Ministry of Defence and the Zigama Credit and Savings Society. The U.S. government alleges that Rwanda deployed thousands of troops into the North and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to provide M23 rebels—now part of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation—with training, logistics, and advanced weaponry, including surface-to-air missile systems.

Treasury officials further accused Zigama Credit of facilitating tens of millions of dollars in transactions for M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance, while enabling the transport of gold from rebel-held territory to Kigali. These measures aim to enforce the December 2025 Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, a U.S.-brokered deal signed by Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame. The sanctions freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. persons from conducting transactions with the designated entities.

President Félix Tshisekedi and the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the sanctions, with Tshisekedi calling for increased international pressure to secure peace. The Government of Rwanda denied backing M23 and argued that the DRC failed to neutralize the FDLR genocidal militia. Rwandan spokesperson Yolande Makolo stated that Rwanda remains ready to implement the accords provided the DRC fulfills its own commitments, which she claimed are "wholly unmet."