TITLE: United States Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Rwanda Defence Force and Senior Officials
BODY:
On March 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and four of its senior officials: Vincent Nyakarundi (Army Chief of Staff), Ruki Karusisi (Major General and Commander of the 5th Infantry Division), Mubarakh Muganga (Chief of Defence Staff), and Stanislas Gashugi (Special Operations Force Commander).
The sanctions target the RDF's active support, training, and combat operations alongside the March 23 Movement (M23), a U.S.- and United Nations-sanctioned armed group operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The RDF has provided direct operational support including advanced military equipment such as GPS jamming systems, air defence equipment, and drones. Thousands of RDF troops are deployed across eastern DRC, where they engage in combat operations and facilitate M23's territorial control, including the seizure of provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu. The RDF also provides training to M23 fighters and supports recruitment efforts. In exchange, Rwanda has gained access to mineral-rich areas of eastern DRC that finance M23's armed rebellion.
The designations are made pursuant to Executive Order 13413, as amended, for threatening the peace, security, or stability of the DRC and materially assisting M23. As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the blocked persons unless authorised by OFAC. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing U.S. persons to violate sanctions or engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions.