Rwanda President Says US Sanctions Will Not Change Stance on Eastern DR Congo

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said US sanctions imposed on his military will not alter Kigali’s stance over eastern DR Congo. Kagame dismissed the restrictions as a cost of pursuing national interests. In March, Washington sanctioned Rwanda’s defense forces and several senior officials, accusing them of funding the M23 rebels who have taken over mineral-rich areas of eastern DR Congo.

The US cited violations of a Washington-brokered ceasefire arrangement and said Rwanda was fueling instability. “I never capitulated in the worst situation,” Kagame told executives and policymakers at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali. ” Rwanda has said its involvement in DR Congo is aimed at countering the FDLR, a militia founded by the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide of Tutsis by Hutus.

Kinshasa and UN investigators accuse Kigali of providing direct military support to M23, a charge Rwanda denies. The sanctions target Rwanda’s defense forces along with several senior officials. The measures followed reports that M23 had seized control of areas rich in minerals in eastern DR Congo.

Officials said the actions violated a previously brokered ceasefire.