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 Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila holds a press conference announcing the signing of the founding document of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) [AFP]

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.

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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.

Reporting from Goma, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani said there were growing fears that fighting in eastern DRC could escalate.

“Kabila addressed the nation explaining his plan. People are making comments across the country that this is another level of the conflict,” Uaykani explained.

Uaykani said that rebels already hold Goma, Bukabu, the airports and key border crossings with Rwanda and Uganda, and that the government has been unable to push them back. Talks aimed at resolving the conflict have also failed, with each side blaming the other.

“The government has shown no sign of defeating these people,” he said.

Uaykani noted that Kabila is a former army chief and said there were fears that government troops could defect.

“He’s still a soldier, he has led an army. People are worried that more soldiers from the government may join him as well”.

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.

金沙萨严阵以待，应对可能发生的冲突，卡比拉与M23叛军结盟，挑战齐塞克迪总统的政权。

刚果民主共和国前总统约瑟夫·卡比拉举行新闻发布会，宣布签署民族重建阵线（FRN）成立文件。[法新社]

刚果前总统约瑟夫·卡比拉组建了一个新的政治和军事联盟，其中包括卢旺达支持的M23武装组织，该组织已经占领了刚果民主共和国东部的大片地区。

卡比拉周一在其位于东部城市戈马的住所举行的新闻发布会上介绍了国家重建阵线（FRN）。自2025年1月以来，戈马一直由M23控制。

列表 1/4：刚果民主共和国与 M23 反叛武装就和平谈判路线图达成一致

卢旺达指责刚果民主共和国支持其境内的武装团体（共4条，此为第2条）

列表 3/4：刚果民主共和国警方镇压反对宪法改革的抗议活动

列表 4/4：刚果民主共和国数百人抗议总统连任第三届

卡比拉表示，他将领导刚果民主共和国阵线，包括前刚果河联盟（AFC）领导人、M23政治分支领导人科内利·南加在内的反叛领导人将担任他的副手。

联盟顾问克劳德·伊巴兰基表示，该组织的目标是联合所有抵抗力量，“以一切必要手段，包括使用武力，来结束暴政”。

刚果民主共和国政府尚未对此声明作出回应。

半岛电视台记者阿兰·乌艾卡尼从戈马报道说，人们越来越担心刚果（金）东部的战斗可能会升级。

“卡比拉向全国发表讲话，阐述了他的计划。全国各地都有人评论说，这是冲突的另一个阶段，”乌艾卡尼解释道。

乌艾卡尼表示，反叛分子已经控制了戈马、布卡布、机场以及与卢旺达和乌干达接壤的主要边境口岸，政府军无力将其击退。旨在解决冲突的谈判也以失败告终，双方互相指责。

他说：“政府没有表现出任何战胜这些人的迹象。”

乌艾卡尼指出，卡比拉曾是陆军总司令，并表示有人担心政府军可能会叛变。

“他仍然是一名军人，他曾经领导过军队。人们担心会有更多政府军人效仿他的做法。”

加拿大渥太华大学的研究员伊冯·穆亚表示，这一声明增加了卡比拉与刚果民主共和国总统费利克斯·齐塞克迪之间发生直接冲突的可能性，并可能导致刚果民主共和国东部爆发更多战斗。

穆亚说：“你不会在没有准备好后续行动的情况下就发表这样的声明。我们很可能会看到军事冲突升级。”

刚果民主共和国政府和M23运动的代表原定于11月在卡塔尔举行会谈，但分析人士警告说，新的联盟可能会破坏这一进程。

卡比拉于 2001 年至 2019 年领导刚果民主共和国，在其父洛朗·卡比拉总统遇刺身亡后，29 岁的他接任总统一职。

去年，刚果民主共和国军事法庭缺席判处约瑟夫·卡比拉死刑，罪名包括叛国罪、战争罪和反人类罪，认定他与卢旺达和M23合作。

卡比拉称此案是出于政治动机，并否认了这些指控。

今年早些时候，美国因其涉嫌资助叛乱组织而对其实施制裁。

刚果民主共和国、美国和联合国专家指责卢旺达支持M23，但卢旺达否认了这一指控。

齐塞克迪的第二个任期将于 2028 年结束，随着东部叛乱活动的加剧，他的盟友一直在引导公众舆论修改宪法规定的两届任期限制。