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

Kinshasa braces for potential conflict as Kabila allies with M23 rebels, challenging President Tshisekedi’s regime.

Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila has launched a new political and military coalition, including the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which has captured vast areas of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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

Kabila said he will head the FRN with rebel leaders including Corneille Nangaa, the former leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and the political wing of M23, serving as his deputies.

Claude Ibalanky, a coalition adviser, said the group aims to unite all resistance forces “to put an end to tyranny, by any means necessary including the use of force”.

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

Yvon Muya, a researcher at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said the announcement increases the chances of a direct confrontation between Kabila and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, and could lead to more fighting in eastern DRC.

“You don’t make an announcement like this without having prepared the actions that follow,” Muya said. “We will likely witness an escalation on the military front.”

Representatives from the DRC 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 DR Congo from 2001 to 2019, taking office at 29 after his father, President Laurent Kabila was assassinated.

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

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

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

The DRC, the US and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, an allegation which Rwanda denies.

Tshisekedi’s second term ends in 2028, and his allies have been preparing public opinion for changes to the constitution’s two-term limit, as rebel activities intensify in the east.