The US has accused Rwanda of breaching a US-mediated peace agreement by supporting a renewed rebel offensive in eastern Congo and warned it will act against “spoilers”. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said he was “profoundly concerned and incredibly disappointed with the renewed outbreak of violence” by the Rwanda-backed M23 fighters, as officials report more than 400 civilian deaths since the insurgency intensified in South Kivu.
Waltz told the UN security council that “Rwanda is leading the region towards increased instability and war” and vowed: “We will use the tools at our disposal to hold to account spoilers to peace.” He urged Rwanda to respect Congo’s right to defend its territory and to allow friendly Burundian forces to assist Congolese troops. The US said it is engaging all parties to urge restraint and prevent further escalation.
The offensive unfolded despite a Washington peace deal signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents. The accord, which did not include M23, required Rwanda to stop supporting armed groups such as M23 and to work to end hostilities. M23 has been negotiating separately with Congo after an earlier ceasefire both sides accuse the other of breaching.
Congo’s ministry of communication confirmed that M23 seized the strategic port city of Uvira on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika, opposite Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura. Uvira was the government’s last major hold in South Kivu after rebels took Bukavu in February. Its capture lets M23 consolidate a broad corridor across eastern Congo. Regional officials say roughly 200,000 people have been displaced and more than 400 killed since the offensive began, and there are reports of shells falling in Rugombo, inside Burundi, raising fears of cross-border spillover.
Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, hosts more than 100 armed groups, with M23 the most prominent. The conflict has created a major humanitarian crisis, and UN refugee agency figures show over 7 million people displaced in the region. Congo, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which the UN estimates has grown to about 6,500 fighters since 2021.
Waltz alleged Rwandan forces provided “logistics and training support to M23” and were fighting alongside the rebels, estimating roughly 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan troops in eastern Congo as of early December. Congo’s foreign minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, said Rwanda had trampled the peace agreement and called on the security council to impose sanctions on military and political leaders, ban mineral exports from Rwanda and bar it from contributing troops to UN peacekeeping—an acute blow given Rwanda supplies nearly 6,000 UN peacekeepers.
Eastern Congo’s critical minerals have also drawn US interest as Washington seeks alternatives to China for rare earths used in military and civilian technologies.
