Former DR Congo President Kabila joins M23 rebels in a new coalition

Kinshasa braces for imaginable struggle arsenic Kabila allies with M23 rebels, challenging President Tshisekedi’s regime.

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has launched a caller governmental and subject coalition, including the Rwanda-backed M23 equipped group, which has captured immense areas of the eastbound Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Kabila introduced the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) astatine a quality league connected Monday astatine his residence successful the eastbound metropolis of Goma, which the M23 has controlled since January 2025.

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Kabila said helium volition caput the FRN with rebel leaders, including Corneille Nangaa, the erstwhile person of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and the governmental helping of M23, serving arsenic his deputies.

Claude Ibalanky, a conjugation adviser, said the radical aims to unite each absorption forces “to enactment an extremity to tyranny by immoderate means necessary, including the usage of force”.

There was nary contiguous effect to the announcement from the DRC government.

Reporting from Goma, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani said determination were increasing fears that warring successful eastbound DRC could escalate.

“Kabila addressed the nation, explaining his plan. People are making comments crossed the state that this is different level of the conflict,” Uaykani explained.

Uaykani said rebels already clasp Goma, Bukabu, the airports and cardinal borderline crossings with Rwanda and Uganda, and that the authorities has been incapable to propulsion them back. Talks to resoluteness the struggle person besides failed, with each broadside blaming the other.

“The authorities has shown nary motion of defeating these people,” helium said.

Uaykani noted that Kabila is simply a erstwhile service main and said determination were fears that authorities troops could defect.

“He’s inactive a soldier; helium has led an army. People are disquieted that much soldiers from the authorities whitethorn articulation him arsenic well”.

Yvon Muya, a researcher astatine the University of Ottawa successful Canada, said the announcement increases the chances of a confrontation betwixt Kabila and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, and could pb to much warring successful eastbound DRC.

“You don’t marque an announcement similar this without having prepared the actions that follow,” Muya said. “We volition apt witnesser an escalation connected the subject front.”

Representatives from the DRC authorities and the M23 question were expected to conscionable successful Qatar successful November for talks, but analysts pass that the caller conjugation could undermine the process.

Kabila led the DRC from 2001 to 2019, taking bureau astatine 29 aft his father, President Laurent Kabila, was assassinated.

A DRC subject tribunal sentenced Joseph Kabila to decease successful absentia past twelvemonth connected charges of treason, warfare crimes and crimes against humanity, uncovering that helium collaborated with Rwanda and M23.

Kabila has called the lawsuit politically motivated and denies the charges.

The US imposed sanctions connected him earlier this twelvemonth implicit his alleged relation successful backing rebel groups.

The DRC, the United States and United Nations experts impeach Rwanda of backing M23, an allegation Rwanda denies.

Tshisekedi’s second term ends successful 2028, and his allies person been preparing nationalist sentiment for changes to the constitution’s two-term limit, arsenic rebel activities intensify successful the east.