President Paul Kagame has launched a scathing attack on United States sanctions targeting Rwanda’s army, calling them “insults thrown in the face” of his country and accusing Washington of applying uneven pressure on Rwanda while treating the Democratic Republic of Congo with kid gloves.
In a wide-ranging interview with Jeune Afrique published Friday — conducted on March 26, 2026 — the Rwandan leader dismissed the sanctions imposed on the Rwanda Defence Force in early March as unjust and hypocritical.
Heavy Pressure on One, Not the Other
“Sanctions and threats are nothing but insults thrown in the face of my country,” Kagame said. He charged that the US government “must not give the impression of exerting heavy pressure on one side while treating the other delicately” — a clear reference to his longstanding accusation that Kinshasa has repeatedly violated the terms of peace agreements signed in Washington in December 2025.
Rwanda has consistently denied arming the M23 rebel group, which has seized vast swaths of eastern DRC since 2021 and captured the major cities of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025. Kigali insists its military presence in eastern Congo is purely defensive, aimed at neutralising the FDLR — a militia composed of remnants of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide of Tutsis.
M23 Advances Continue Despite Peace Deal
Despite the fanfare surrounding the US-brokered peace accord, M23 fighters seized another strategic city — Uvira, near the Burundi border — just days after the signing. The move drew a sharp and angry response from Washington, which threatened consequences if the advance was not reversed.
Kagame, however, pushed back hard. “Don’t expect me to lift our defence measures while you are doing nothing to stop what threatens my country,” he said, accusing Congo of only “very partially” meeting its obligations under the December agreements, if at all.
Sanctions and Their Context
The US imposed sanctions on the Rwandan army and four senior commanders in early March, accusing them of supporting M23. The move marked a significant escalation in Washington’s approach to the Congolese conflict, which has killed thousands and displaced millions.
Kagame’s interview also touched on Mozambique’s restive northern Cabo Delgado province, where Rwandan troops have been fighting Islamist insurgents since 2021 — a deployment backed by 40 million euros in EU funding. He warned that Rwanda could withdraw those forces if financing was not guaranteed, calling on oil giants Total, Exxon Mobil, and Eni to help “finance the security they need” in the region.