The United States Department of the Treasury reported this Wednesday that the Ministry of Defense of Rwanda has been added to its list of sanctioned bodies and institutions, considering it a financier and military adviser of the operations of the militias of the March 23 Movement (M23) in the prolonged and bloody conflict that shakes the east of neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The entry of the Ministry on this sanctions list adds to the decision adopted by Washington on March 3 against the Rwandan Army and four senior commanders in its ranks, who are accused of "providing direct operational support" to the M23 and its allies.
Rwanda has repeatedly rejected these accusations, despite the numerous reports from the United States and the United Nations that attribute support for the M23 to it, and instead holds accountable militias funded by the Congolese Government, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), for fueling the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and for extending it even across the border, within Rwandan territory itself.
At the same time, Rwanda continues to be part of the peace talks included in the Washington Peace Accords, signed in July last year with the Congolese Government, whose real impact on the ground has so far been very limited.
One of the most recent episodes of this dialogue took place last week, between October 20 and 22, during a meeting of military commanders from both countries in Garmisch (Germany), aimed at advancing plans to "neutralize" the FDLR and address "the withdrawal of Rwandan forces", a round that the U.S. adviser for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, described just yesterday as "constructive".