DR Congo's former president Joseph Kabila to lead new movement with M23 rebels

Former Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila has formed an alliance with the M23 rebel group, taking leadership of a fresh political and military coalition, according to a report by France 24.

The pact was unveiled during a shared media briefing hosted at Kabila's home in Goma. The eastern Congolese hub has been under the dominion of the insurgent faction since January 2025. The M23 movement, which operates across broad stretches of the conflict-ridden eastern provinces, is backed by Rwanda.

Kabila, 55, presided over the nation from 2001 until 2019. Congolese judicial authorities previously tried him in absentia and handed down a capital sentence roughly one year ago, convicting him of complicity alongside the M23. Officials in Kinshasa maintain that the former head of state helped establish the Congo River Alliance, or AFC, an outfit that formerly functioned as the political arm of the insurgent movement before its dissolution.

The public unveiling of the alliance unfolds during an atmosphere of mounting political friction across the Central African nation. Kabila's successor, 63-year-old President Felix Tshisekedi, is slated to complete his second and final five-year presidential term in 2028. Under the existing national constitution, leaders are barred from serving more than two consecutive terms. However, political allies supporting Tshisekedi have spent several months cultivating public sentiment around potential constitutional revisions.

Armed confrontation has plagued eastern DR Congo for more than three decades, and numerous diplomatic initiatives have struggled to halt the fighting. An agreement mediated by the United States between Kinshasa and Kigali in December failed to produce concrete improvements for civilians. Similarly, a separate truce agreed upon in July 2025 through Qatari mediation between the government and the M23 has not been honored on the battlefield.