The Democratic Republic of Congo has appealed to the United States to widen sanctions against Rwanda, warning that Washington’s credibility as a mediator is at stake as violence surges once again in the country’s troubled east.
Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner issued the appeal as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels made a fresh advance, capturing the strategic town of Luvungi near the Burundian border. The United Nations says roughly 200,000 civilians have fled in recent days, with many killed as fighting intensifies across South Kivu province.
In an interview with Reuters, Wagner insisted that the U.S. must go beyond statements of concern and deploy stronger measures that would hit Rwanda’s military and the individuals who direct it.
“It is not enough to condemn,” she said. “We are counting deaths in the thousands. Concern is not the issue here.”
Her comments followed a high-level meeting in Washington where Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, reaffirmed their commitment to a U.S.-brokered peace framework.
Rwanda denies providing support to M23, claiming its presence in eastern Congo is purely defensive. But U.S. officials and the UN say evidence of Rwandan backing for the rebels is unequivocal.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe dismissed the prospect of stronger sanctions, saying they would not halt the fighting. Instead, he accused Kinshasa of failing to honour peace agreements and breaching a moratorium on airstrikes allegedly agreed at the Washington meeting. He said Congolese forces had been attacking rebel positions and local communities for months before the latest clashes.
Western nations—including the U.S., the UK and the EU—have already sanctioned several M23 and Rwandan officials. Diplomats say additional U.S. sanctions are ready to be deployed if Kigali fails to meet commitments to reduce its military presence in eastern Congo.
Meanwhile, on the ground, M23 has swept across eastern Congo faster than at any time since the conflict began, taking control of major urban centres and pushing towards Uvira. Fighting continues around Sange and Kiliba, with civilians fleeing in large numbers.
Rwanda’s foreign ministry blamed Congo and Burundi for stoking the escalation, accusing Kinshasa of ignoring peace efforts mediated by Washington and Qatar. “The international community has not demanded an end to these attacks prepared for months by the DRC,” it said.
The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes, including the U.S. and nine other member nations, has warned that the fighting risks destabilising the wider region. The alarm is already being felt beyond Congo’s borders: Burundi says more than 30,000 Congolese refugees have crossed into its territory in just three days.
