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DR Congo accuses ex-president Joseph Kabila of plotting 'general attack' after he joins M23 rebels
Kabila, who ruled for 18 years and was sentenced to death in absentia last year, now heads a new rebel front with M23 commanders as his deputies.
Key points
- Joseph Kabila now leads the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, a new group formed with M23 rebels.
- Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said Kabila had decided to "formalise his widespread attack against the Republic".
- Kabila says the government is "motivated solely by its own perpetuation in power".
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has accused former president Joseph Kabila of planning a “general attack” on the country after he took command of a new rebel front alongside the Rwandan-backed M23 movement.
Kabila, 55, who ruled from 2001 to 2019, was unveiled in the rebel-held eastern city of Goma on Monday as head of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN). The group calls itself a “politico-military” movement whose goal is “putting an end to tyranny by any means, including force”. M23 leaders serve as his deputies.
Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said Kabila “has decided to formalise his widespread attack against the Republic”. “The choice to take up arms means killing Congolese in order to try to conquer territories,” he said, dismissing the FRN as a new face on an old campaign. “The players remain the same, the nature of the movement remains the same.”
Kabila hit back in a speech posted online on Friday, accusing President Felix Tshisekedi’s government of being “motivated solely by its own perpetuation in power”. He has denied founding the Congo River Alliance, M23’s now-dissolved political wing, and a court sentenced him to death in absentia a year ago for “complicity” with the rebels.
His move raises the stakes in a conflict that has never cooled since M23 and Rwandan troops seized Goma and Bukavu in early 2025. The front line has largely held since then, but drone strikes and artillery fire continue, especially in South Kivu.
It also sharpens a political fight in Kinshasa. Opposition rallies in June and September protested a proposed constitutional change that could let Tshisekedi, 63, seek a third term when his second and final term ends in 2028. Kabila has voiced support for the opposition, although the main opposition coalition has kept its distance from him.