WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence and a Rwandan financial institution, accusing both of supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Treasury Department said.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the ministry and Zigama Credit and Savings Society, which the department said has played a key role in facilitating Rwanda’s support for M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance.
“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,”
Bessent said Rwanda must halt its support for M23 and withdraw its troops from eastern Congo.
The Washington Accords were signed by the Congolese and Rwandan heads of state on Dec. 4, 2025. The U.S.-brokered deal was meant to pave the way for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Congo, Treasury said. It also set up a regional economic framework covering trade, investment and critical minerals supply chains.
Treasury said the ministry is the umbrella organization for Rwanda’s security services, including the Rwanda Defence Force, which the United States sanctioned on March 2. At the ministry’s direction, the department said, the force has deployed thousands of troops across North and South Kivu provinces, where they conduct operations alongside M23 and provide the group with military equipment, supplies, logistical support and training.
The force has also introduced advanced weaponry, including surface-to-air missile systems and jamming equipment, creating risks for civilian aviation in eastern Congo, Treasury said.
M23 is a U.S.- and United Nations-designated armed group. Treasury said it has illegally seized territory in eastern Congo, capturing Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu, in early 2025, along with mining areas that include gold mines in South Kivu and Rubaya, an expansive coltan mining area in North Kivu.
In M23-controlled areas, civilians have been subjected to forced labor, dangerous working conditions and illegal “taxation” schemes in the mining areas, Treasury said. The department said the group has also carried out extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions and torture or other physical abuses, and has contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis marked by mass displacement.
Zigama operates on behalf of Rwanda’s security services, according to Treasury. The department said it has facilitated payments to entities in China and additional countries for weapons, ammunition and other military equipment for the Rwanda Defence Force, and payments for the force’s travel and accommodation for training activities.
A Zigama branch enabled the transportation of gold sourced from M23-controlled territory in eastern Congo to Kigali, Treasury said. The department said Zigama has also facilitated financial transactions for M23 and the Congo River Alliance amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
On Oct. 12, the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation announced its formation as the successor to the Congo River Alliance, Treasury said.
Rwanda denies backing the rebels, Reuters reported. Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the accords also carry commitments on neutralizing the FDLR, a Hutu militia rooted in the 1994 genocide, and that those commitments are unmet. Rwanda is ready to fully implement the accords, she said, if Congo fulfills its own commitments, Reuters reported.
Congo’s foreign ministry welcomed the sanctions. In a statement, it said they send “a clear message that Rwanda cannot act with impunity,” Reuters reported.
The designations block the property and interests of the ministry and Zigama in the United States, or in the hands of U.S. persons, and that property must be reported to OFAC, Treasury said. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transactions involving them.
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