Former President Kabila Joins New Rebel Front Threatening Wider Conflict in Congo

Former president Joseph Kabila has entered the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, a new rebel alliance that unites the M23 militia with opposition leaders like Corneille Nangaa. The coalition, which vows to challenge President Félix Tshisekedi "by all means, including force," could push the long-standing eastern insurgency toward Kinshasa. The war is driven by disputes over land and mineral wealth, notably Congo’s dominance in cobalt production.

So far, the fighting has forced more than 8 million people from their homes and intensified a humanitarian emergency marked by sexual violence and child-soldier recruitment. Tshisekedi’s administration is under pressure for proposed constitutional changes and a Belgian money-laundering investigation targeting his relatives. The durability of the FRN remains uncertain given the varied aims of its members and internal tensions within M23.