United States imposes sanctions on Rwanda military over fighting in DR Congo

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Rwanda's defence forces and top military officials over their role in ongoing fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

It has also called for their immediate withdrawal from the mineral-rich region.

Washington says Rwanda’s military actions are sabotaging a peace agreement between the two countries signed in December last year which was brokered by the US.

At the time, President Donald Trump described the deal as a “great miracle” after years of violence in the eastern Congo but warned that any party who violated it would face severe penalties.

The ink, however, had barely dried on the agreement when Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured the region’s key city of Uvira, although they later withdrew under US pressure.

Rwanda has long rejected claims that it supports the rebels, but the US Treasury Department said territorial gains made by the M23 would have been impossible without their backing.

"M23, a US- and UN-sanctioned entity, is responsible for horrific human rights abuses, including summary executions and violence against civilians, including women and children," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

The government in Kigali said the sanctions unjustly target only one party to the conflict and misrepresents the facts.

It said it was "fully committed to disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations" under US-led mediation.

But it accused Kinshasa of ​failing to keep promises such as ending support for militias based in the eastern DRC.

The sanctions are a huge setback for Rwanda, which for decades has enjoyed close relations with the United States, Britain, and other European countries.

Trump had hailed the December peace deal as a way to secure critical minerals for the US from the resource-rich DRC.

The sanctions will block any assets that the RDF or the four officers hold in the United States and criminalise any financial transactions with them.