U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is closely monitoring Rwanda’s withdrawal commitments in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, warning that Washington does not want to see Rwandan troops simply “change uniform into M23 uniforms” and claim they have left Congolese territory.
Speaking about U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Great Lakes region, Rubio said Rwanda had shown some compliance with commitments made following U.S. pressure and targeted sanctions, but stressed that Washington remained cautious about how troop withdrawals are implemented.
“We don’t want to see Rwandan troops change uniform into M23 uniforms and claim that they’ve pulled out. We gotta watch that very carefully,” Rubio said.
The remarks represent one of the clearest public acknowledgements by a senior U.S. official of concerns that Rwandan soldiers could remain active in eastern Congo under the banner of the M23 rebel group.
Rubio said the United States had imposed targeted sanctions on Rwanda after determining that compliance with previous commitments had been inadequate.
“To be fair, and I know that some other people disagree with this assessment, but we believe it’s pretty accurate on the Rwandan side. And so, we initiated some sanctions, targeted sanctions on Rwanda,” Rubio said.
He added that Kigali had since returned to negotiations and made commitments that Washington believes are being implemented, although more slowly than U.S. officials would like.
“They’ve come to the table, they’ve made some commitments. They are complying with the commitments, maybe not at the rate or speed that we’d like them to, but there’s been some compliance on pulling back of troops,” Rubio said.
The secretary of state said U.S. officials would continue to monitor developments closely while also addressing the role of M23, which controls large areas of eastern Congo following a renewed offensive that has intensified one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.
“We also have to deal with the M23 issue there,” Rubio said.
Rwanda has consistently denied accusations that it commands or supports M23 fighters. However, U.N. experts, the United States and several Western governments have repeatedly concluded that Rwanda has provided military support to the rebel group and deployed troops inside Congolese territory.
The latest comments suggest Washington remains skeptical that any troop withdrawal can be considered complete without independent verification that Rwandan forces have not been integrated into M23 ranks.
Rubio cited the Democratic Republic of Congo-Rwanda conflict and the war in Sudan as two areas where the United States remains actively engaged in efforts to broker lasting solutions.
The conflict in eastern Congo has displaced millions of people and triggered a diplomatic crisis between Kinshasa and Kigali. Regional and international mediation efforts have intensified in recent months amid attempts to secure a durable peace agreement and the withdrawal of foreign-backed armed groups from the region.
