The United States Treasury announced new sanctions this week against Rwanda's Ministry of Defense and Zigama Credit and Savings Society, a Rwandan financial institution that the US Treasury found facilitated payments for the Rwandan army and the abusive M23 armed group. The sanctions freeze all named parties’ assets and interests in the US and effectively bar their use of the US dollar in international transactions.

Thousands of Rwandan soldiers have fought alongside the M23 in eastern Congo since the group’s resurgence in late 2021. The Rwandan army has also provided the M23 with significant logistical and material support. In announcing the new sanctions, the US Treasury noted the M23 has perpetrated serious human rights abuses. The armed group has carried out unlawful killings, sexual violence , forced recruitment and forced labor, unlawful detentions , forced population transfers , and torture or other physical abuses in areas under its control.…