The US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and four of its top military officials over their support, training, and fighting alongside M23 troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

The RDF have reportedly provided direct operational support to M23 and its affiliates by introducing advanced military equipment to eastern DRC, including GPS jamming systems, air defense equipment and drones. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US seeks the immediate withdrawal of RDF troops, weapons and equipment.

Rwanda government officials expressly rejected the sanctions as unjust and one-sided, stating:

The sanctions issued today by the [US] unjustly targeting only one party to the peace process misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict in eastern [DRC]. Consistent and indiscriminate drone attacks and ground offensives constitute clear violations of ceasefire agreements by the DRC, and continue to cost many lives. Protecting our country is a badge of honour which the Rwanda Defense Force carries very proudly.

Sanctions come two months after the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes (ICG) issued a joint statement on the escalation of violence in eastern DRC and the new M23 offensive, which Rwanda is charged with having supported. The ICG urged all parties to honor their obligations to protect civilians, uphold commitments under last year’s Washington Accords, and immediately deescalate the situation.

Armed group M23 has operated in the DRC for over a decade and has allegedly committed numerous war crimes, including mass rape, during its occupation of Goma in eastern DRC in late 2012. The group is also documented to have forcibly recruited at least 146 young men and boys in the Rutshuru territory of the eastern DRC alone since July 2012, some as young as 15 years old.

The UN Security Council has condemned M23 actions and imposed sanctions on parties violating arms, transport and finance rules, as well as political and military leaders of Congolese militias receiving support from outside the DRC.

The RDF actions come despite of a joint declaration between DRC and Rwanda signed last year as part of a US-backed Regional Economic Integration Framework, to chart a future of mutually beneficial partnerships, greater connectivity with international  development initiatives, and investment opportunities across sectors, including in mining, infrastructure, industrial development, and national park management.