The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Rwanda's Ministry of Defence, accusing Kigali of backing the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite a US-brokered peace deal signed less than a year ago.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the measures on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Alongside the defence ministry, it also sanctioned Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a Rwandan financial institution that serves the country's security services.
According to Washington, Rwanda's defence ministry directed thousands of Rwandan troops into Congo's North and South Kivu provinces, where they operated alongside M23 fighters and supplied the group with weapons, equipment, logistics and training. The Treasury also said advanced weaponry, including surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jamming equipment, was brought into the conflict zone, creating risks for civilian aviation.
Zigama, the Treasury said, played a key role in moving money for M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance. It allegedly handled transactions worth tens of millions of dollars, paid suppliers in China and other countries for military equipment, and helped move gold from rebel-held territory to Rwanda's capital, Kigali. Any assets of the two sanctioned entities under US jurisdiction are now frozen, and financial institutions dealing with them face sanctions exposure.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern DRC." He said the action holds Rwanda to the commitments it made under the Washington Accords, the peace agreement signed in Washington on 4 December 2025 by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, with US President Donald Trump present.
Fighting has continued on the ground despite that deal. M23 captured the eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025 and still controls large parts of North and South Kivu, including mineral-rich areas. The United Nations has described the conflict in eastern Congo as one of the most protracted and serious humanitarian crises in the world.
Rwanda has consistently denied backing M23. Its foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said this week that Rwanda should not be made a "scapegoat" for events in Congo, and argued that the crisis is mainly a Congolese political issue. Washington had already sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior commanders in March 2026 over the same allegations.
The Democratic Republic of Congo welcomed the new measures. Its embassy in Washington said violations of the Washington Accords must carry consequences, and called on Rwanda to end its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from Congolese territory.
The sanctions underline how far the US peace effort has yet to go: the deal was presented as a breakthrough, but the fighting, and the dispute over who is fuelling it, continues.
Sources: Reuters, US Treasury Department, Associated Press reporting via international outlets.
--- Urdu version (Roman Urdu) ---
America ne Rwanda ki Wazarat-e-Difa par nayi pabandiyan laga di hain, ilzaam hai ke Kigali mashriqi Congo mein M23 baghi group ki himayat kar raha hai, halanke pichle saal America ki salisi mein aik aman muahida bhi hua tha.
US Treasury ne 28 October 2026 ko yeh elaan kiya. Wazarat-e-Difa ke saath Zigama Credit and Savings Society par bhi pabandi lagi, jo Rwanda ki security forces se munsalik aik maaliyati idara hai.
America ke mutabiq, Rwanda ki wazarat ne hazaaron fauji Congo ke North aur South Kivu soobon mein bheje, jahan unhon ne M23 ke saath mil kar karwai ki aur usay hathyar, saman aur training di. Zigama par ilzaam hai ke us ne M23 ke liye karoron dollar ke transactions kiye aur baghiyon ke ilaqon se sona Kigali pohunchane mein madad ki.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ne kaha ke Rwanda ko M23 ki himayat khatam karni chahiye aur apne fauji mashriqi Congo se wapas bulane chahiye. Rwanda is ilzaam ki tardid karta hai. Congo ne is faisle ka khair maqdam kiya hai aur mutalba kiya hai ke Rwanda apni himayat khatam kare.
M23 ne 2025 ke shuru mein Goma aur Bukavu shehron par qabza kiya tha, aur mashriqi Congo mein laraai ab bhi jaari hai.
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