The U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions Friday on several senior Rwandan officials for what it described as “fueling instability” in eastern Congo, intensifying pressure on Rwanda days after Washington sanctioned the Rwandan military and four of its top officers for backing the M23 rebel group.
The unnamed officials are targeted for continued support of M23, which the U.S. says has persisted despite the Washington Accords — a peace agreement signed in December between Rwanda and Congo with U.S. mediation.
The escalating U.S. measures mark a significant turn against a country the Trump administration had recently praised as a peace partner; the December agreement that the visa restrictions cite as violated also opened eastern Congo’s critical mineral reserves to U.S. government and American companies.
“By continuing to support M23 and violating the Washington Accords, these individuals are driving violence and undermining the stability” in the region, said the statement attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The State Department said it “expects all parties to the Washington Accords to fully honor their commitments,” which include requirements for Congo to immediately neutralize armed groups threatening Rwanda and for Rwandan troops to withdraw from Congo.
Monday sanctions and Rwandan response
On Monday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Rwandan military and four senior officials for supporting M23, whose rebellion has caused the displacement of thousands in eastern Congo. The group is also blamed for human rights abuses in the region.
Rwandan authorities said the U.S. sanctions were unjust, citing what they described as violations of the peace agreement by Congo’s government.
The December deal
The Washington Accords were signed in December in a ceremony where President Donald Trump praised both countries’ leaders for their courage. The agreement also opened the region’s critical mineral reserves to the U.S. government and American companies.
Despite the accord, fighting between the two parties has continued on multiple fronts in eastern Congo, claiming civilian and military casualties.
Scale of the crisis
M23 is the most prominent of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has produced one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises: more than 7 million people are displaced, according to the U.N. agency for refugees.
The group has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N. Congo, the U.S., and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23.
The conflict in eastern Congo escalated sharply in January 2025 after M23 rebels made an unprecedented advance into the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, further expanding their control across the hard-hit region.
Background
M23 emerged in 2012 as a Tutsi-led rebel group whose members said a 2009 agreement — intended to integrate fighters into the Congolese army and facilitate the return of refugees from elsewhere in East Africa — had been violated by Congo’s government.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has described M23’s struggle as justified in defense of the rights of Congolese Tutsis, who have sought shelter in neighboring countries over the decades.