KIGALI, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and four of its senior officials, citing alleged support for the March 23 Movement (M23) in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the RDF has been "actively supporting, training, and fighting alongside" the M23, which is under U.S. and United Nations sanctions for alleged human rights abuses and a mass displacement crisis in the DRC.
The U.S. Treasury also accused the RDF of deploying troops and military equipment into eastern Congo, contributing to the armed group's territorial gains, including the seizure of key cities and mining areas.
Rwanda swiftly rejected the U.S. allegations, describing the sanctions as unfair and one-sided.
In a statement released late Monday, Kigali said the measures "unjustly targeting only one party to the peace process misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo." ■