Rwanda on Thursday described recent criticism of its Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain sponsorship deals by the Democratic Republic of Congo's foreign minister as a threat to regional peace and stability.

Earlier this month DRC's foreign minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner urged the three clubs to end their "blood-stained" sponsorship agreements with "Visit Rwanda", questioning the morality of such partnerships while fighting raged in eastern Congo.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized a number of key towns and cities there in what is the gravest escalation in more than a decade of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources.

"The Government of Rwanda rejects recent attempts by the Democratic Republic of Congo to undermine Rwanda’s international partnerships through misinformation and political pressure," the Rwanda Development Board, which oversees the deals, said in a statement on Thursday.

"These efforts not only misrepresent the truth but also threaten the foundations of regional peace, stability, and economic cooperation that we have worked tirelessly to build."

Congo's Kayikwamba Wagner repeated her criticisms in a swift response, claiming Rwanda had more than 4,000 troops fighting alongside the M23 and pointing to the recent condemnation from the UN, the United States and other G7 nations.

The fighting in eastern Congo has led to human rights violations including summary executions, the bombing of displacement camps, and reports of gang rape and other sexual violence, according to the United Nations.

The U.S. on Thursday made its most direct intervention in the crisis so far as it imposed sanctions on Rwanda's government minister for Regional Integration, who it said was "central" to Rwanda's support of the M23 militant group.

Rwanda says it is defending itself, accusing Congo's military of joining forces with ethnic Hutu-led militias bent on slaughtering Tutsis in Congo and threatening Rwanda, where Hutus targeted Tutsis in a 1994 genocide and some of them later fled to Congo.

"Visit Rwanda" began its sponsorship of Arsenal in 2018, with the latest deal reported to be worth more than 10 million pounds ($12 million) per year.

Bayern Munich signed a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda in 2023, while "Visit Rwanda" has been a sponsor of PSG since 2019.

Reuters previously contacted the three clubs about the sponsorship deals but none replied.

"We encourage all of Rwanda’s international partners... to think very carefully if Rwanda is a country that aligns with their values," DRC's Kayikwamba Wagner said in her statement on Thursday.