The United States has announced visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials, accusing them of backing the M23 rebel movement and fueling instability in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a statement, the US Department of State said it is acting against individuals it believes are supporting M23 in violation of regional peace commitments known as the Washington Accords. Washington accuses these officials of driving violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and destabilised the wider Great Lakes region.

“By continuing to support M23 and violating the Washington Accords, these individuals are driving violence and undermining the stability of the entire Great Lakes Region. The United States expects all parties to the Washington Accords to fully implement their commitments,” the statement said.

The US outlined two key obligations it expects to see honoured: the immediate neutralisation by Congolese authorities of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, and associated groups, and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and military equipment from Congolese territory.

Washington framed the measures as part of a broader push to unlock the “immense economic potential” of the Great Lakes, arguing that sustainable development is impossible while armed groups operate with external backing and cross-border tensions remain unresolved.

The visa restriction policy allows the US Secretary of State to declare foreign nationals inadmissible when their entry is deemed to carry potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. Certain family members of the targeted officials may also be barred from travelling to the United States.

M23, or the March 23 Movement, is an armed group operating mainly in North Kivu Province in eastern DRC, near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Its name refers to a 2009 peace agreement between the Congolese government and the National Congress for the Defence of the People, a previous rebel movement. Fighters who later formed M23 accused Kinshasa of failing to honour that deal and launched a new rebellion in 2012.

The latest US move adds diplomatic pressure on Kigali at a time when regional and international mediators are struggling to halt renewed fighting and avert a wider conflict that could draw in multiple neighbouring states.