Former DR Congo President Kabila Joins M23 Rebels in New Alliance

The alliance heightens fears of war and further confrontation with President Tshisekedi's government.

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has launched a new political and military coalition, including the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group, which has seized large swathes of eastern DRC.

Kabila announced the Front for the Reconstruction of the Nation (FRN) at a press conference on Monday at his residence in the eastern city of Goma, which M23 has controlled since January 2025.

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List 4 of 4 Hundreds of demonstrations in the Democratic Republic of Congo against the third term of the president

The end of the list Kabila said he would lead the FRN with rebel leaders including Cornel Nanga, former leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and the M23 political wing, as his deputies.

Claude Ibalanki, an adviser to the coalition, said the group's goal is to unite all resistance forces "to end the tyranny, by any means necessary, including the use of force."

There was no immediate response to the announcement from the DRC government.

Yvonne Moya, a researcher at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said the announcement raises the possibility of a direct conflict between Kabila and Congolese President Felix Shiskedi and could lead to further conflict in eastern Congo.

"You don't make an announcement like that without preparing the actions that will follow," Moya said. We will probably see an escalation of tension on the military front.

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 movement were expected to meet in Qatar in November for talks, but analysts warn that the new coalition could undermine the process.

Kabila led the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019, coming to power at the age of 29 after the assassination of his father, President Laurent Kabila.

A Democratic Republic of Congo military court last year sentenced Joseph Kabila to death in absentia on charges of treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity, finding that he collaborated with Rwanda and M23.

Kabila has called this case politically motivated and denied the charges.

The United States imposed sanctions on him earlier this year over his alleged role in funding rebel groups.

Congolese, US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of supporting M23, a claim Rwanda denies.

Tshisekedi's second term ends in 2028, and his allies are bracing for a change in the constitution's two-term limit as rebel activity in the east intensifies.