The United States has imposed new sanctions on Rwanda over accusations that it is forgoing commitments to peace in neighboring Congo in supporting a powerful rebel militia.
The ongoing war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed thousands of lives. President Donald Trump said in 2025 that he had ended it. But the conflict continues, driven, according to rights groups and U.S. allegations, by Rwandan support for the March 23 Movement, or M23.
The new round of sanctions target the Rwanda Ministry of Defense and a bank linked to it, Zigama Credit and Savings Society, which the U.S. accuses of “facilitating Rwanda’s support” for M23 and of moving gold over the Rwandan border, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement Wednesday.
The sanctions are meant shut the Rwandan entities out of the U.S. financial system.
Rwanda and Congo signed a peace accord in Washington, reaffirming earlier agreements, at the behest of the Trump administration last year, upon which Trump said he had stopped the war, including as part of his case that he should be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.
But just days after signing the agreement, the M23 launched an offensive and captured Uvira, a port city, later to withdraw, bowing to pressure from the U.S.
The eastern part of Congo has been embroiled in conflict for more than three decades, much longer if its violent colonial past is factored in, amid a long-running scramble for the area’s mineral wealth.
Rights organizations including the U.N. has accused M23 of committing war crimes, including rape and murder.
Congo has some of the world largest deposits of minerals, such as coltan, and gold and rare earth metals.
As the war continues, the Congolese government has signed mineral deals with Washington giving U.S. companies preferential access to mining opportunities.
“Today, the United States makes good on President Trump’s promise to hold Rwanda accountable for its commitments under the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity …. Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Rwanda has been accused of arming and training the M23 movement by the U.N. and rights groups, which have documented a flow of arms between Rwanda and the rebels. The Rwandan government has continuously denied backing the rebel group. In an X post Friday, Rwanda’s minister of foreign affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe said Rwanda was in full compliance with the Washington Accords.
Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, and its foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the new sanctions.
Earlier this year, the U.S. placed under sanctions the Rwandan military and four of its commanders over support for M23.
In a statement, the Democratic Republic of Congo Embassy in Washington called the sanctions “decisive” and called for full compliance with the Washington Accords.
This month, Congo President Joseph Kabila, who had long been accused of supporting the M23 rebels, announced an alliance with them.
In 2025, a military court in Kinshasa sentenced Kabila to death in absentia for charges including treason, insurrection, torture and murder — war crimes related to crimes in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo committed by the M23. The U.S. placed Kaliba under sanctions earlier this year.
Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights group, in a statementFriday called for an end to abuses on both sides of the conflict in Congo.
“Sanctions alone, however, will not protect civilians and should be accompanied by concrete measures to secure an end to abuses,” the statement said.
“The U.S. and other governments should also press Congo to investigate and prosecute its own forces responsible for abuse, ensure they respect humanitarian law, and to end support for abusive groups.”
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