Congo's former President Kabila launches an anti-government front including M23 rebels

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Monday launched a new political and military coalition of groups opposed to the current government, including the M23 rebels who have captured wide swaths of territory in eastern Congo.

Kabila's new Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN, includes rebel groups formerly united under the Congo River Alliance, whose former leader Corneille Nangaa will serve as one of the new coalition's four vice presidents.

Coalition advisor Claude Ibalanky said at a news conference late Monday at Kabila's residence in the eastern city of Goma that the FRN's mission is to restore the pillars of a functioning republic. It aims to “unite and coordinate all resistance forces in order to put an end to tyranny — by any means necessary, including the use of force,” Ibalanky said.

“The signatories have decided to pool their forces, resources, and means to create a framework for action through which all Congolese people, acting in unison, will undertake the task of liberating their country,” Ibalanky said.

President Felix Tshisekedi's government gave no immediate reaction to the announcement, which is seen as a major challenge to Tshisekedi's administration and a serious complication for the current peace process with rebels, which has had only limited success.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda, in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. It took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as well as other key cities in eastern Congo in a lightning assault last year.

Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23.

Last year, a high military court in Congo sentenced Kabila to death in absentia after finding him guilty of treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The court said he collaborated with Rwanda and M23. The former president denied the accusations and called the proceedings politically motivated.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Kabila for his alleged role in funding and providing political support to rebel groups operating in the east of his country.

Kabila led Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office at the age of 29 — after his father and former President Laurent Kabila was assassinated — and extended his mandate by delaying elections for two years after his term ended in 2017. His candidate lost in December 2018 to Kabila’s long-term political rival, Tshisekedi, who has ruled the country since 2019.

Yvon Muya, a researcher at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said Monday's announcement signals a direct confrontation between Kabila and Tshisekedi.

“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.”

Under pressure from the United States, the Congolese government and the AFC/M23 rebels began direct negotiations in Doha to resolve the security crisis. However, more than a year later, clashes continue in eastern Congo, and experts say that negotiations will become even more complicated with Kabila in a leadership position.

“The AFC/M23 leaders have been integrated into a new formation. So, it is hard to see — even from a purely practical standpoint — how the Doha process will work,” Muya told the AP. “All of this risks jeopardizing the ongoing process.”

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Mwanamilongo reported from Bonn, Germany.