U.S. Says Kagame Directed M23 Offensive

he United States has accused Rwandan President Paul Kagame of playing a central role in the capture of the eastern Congolese city of Uvira, saying Kigali exercised strategic control over M23 rebels and directly planned and executed the latest offensive in violation of a U.S.-brokered peace accord signed just days earlier.

Addressing the UN Security Council on Friday, U.S. representative Mike Waltz said Washington was “profoundly concerned and incredibly disappointed” by the renewed violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, describing Rwanda’s actions as a sharp reversal from the commitments made under the Washington Accords signed on Dec. 4 before President Donald Trump.

“Since its re-emergence in 2021, Rwanda has had strategic control of its proxy armed group M23 and its political wing, the Congo River Alliance (AFC),” Waltz said.

“Kigali has been intimately involved in planning and executing the war in eastern DRC, providing both military and political direction to M23 forces.”

The unusually blunt U.S. intervention marks one of the strongest public accusations yet linking Kagame personally to battlefield decisions in eastern Congo and signals that diplomatic pressure on Kigali is entering a far more confrontational phase.

Waltz told the Council that Rwanda and M23 launched a coordinated offensive last weekend that culminated in the midnight capture of Uvira, a strategic city in South Kivu near the Burundi border.

He said Rwandan forces were co-located with M23 fighters along the front lines during the assault.

“For years now, the Rwanda Defence Forces have provided materiel, logistics and training support to M23, and have fought alongside them inside the DRC,” Waltz said, estimating 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan troops were present in Congo as of early December, with possible increases during the latest advance.

He added that Rwanda has deployed surface-to-air missiles and other sophisticated heavy weaponry into North and South Kivu, enabling M23 operations and significantly altering the military balance on the ground.

The U.S. also raised alarm over what it described as a sharp escalation in tactics, citing credible reports of suicide drone attacks and intensified artillery use by both M23 and Rwandan forces, including strikes that crossed into Burundian territory.

“Rather than a march toward peace, Rwanda is leading the region toward increased instability and war,” Waltz said.

Burundi has accused Rwanda of shelling its territory and warned that the fall of Uvira has triggered mass displacement toward Gatumba and Cibitoke, heightening the risk of a wider regional conflict.

Waltz said the United States would “use the tools at our disposal” to hold accountable those undermining the peace process, explicitly calling on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from Congolese territory and uphold its commitments under the Washington Accords.

He reaffirmed Washington’s recognition of Congo’s right to defend its territory and its sovereign right to invite Burundian forces onto its soil, a point Rwanda has contested.

MONUSCO Operations Under Threat

The U.S. envoy also accused Rwanda and M23 of deliberately obstructing UN peacekeeping operations, saying the rebels’ prolonged blockade around Goma and Rwanda’s deployment of air defence systems and electronic jamming had effectively grounded MONUSCO aircraft.

“How can MONUSCO succeed under these conditions?” Waltz asked, calling the obstruction a violation of both the Doha and Washington agreements.

He described it as “a sad hypocrisy” that UN peacekeepers were being besieged by forces backed by a country that itself contributes troops to peacekeeping missions.

Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23, with President Kagame in recent days accusing Congo and Burundi of violating the ceasefire and persecuting Banyamulenge communities in South Kivu.

Kigali says its actions are driven by security threats, particularly the presence of the FDLR militia.

But Waltz said the facts on the ground pointed to direct Rwandan command and control of the offensive that led to Uvira’s fall, warning that continued escalation risks collapsing the peace process before implementation has begun.

“We remain steadfast in our support for MONUSCO and for these historic agreements,” Waltz said. “But the parties themselves bear full responsibility for whether peace succeeds or fails.”