DR Congo: Former President Kabila Forms Alliance With M23 Rebels
The Facts
- Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila was named Monday to head a new political-military coalition, the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), launched at his residence in Goma, the eastern city that M23 rebels have controlled since January 2025.
- The FRN's founding declaration named M23 figures Corneille Nangaa and Bertrand Bisimwa as vice presidents, Sultani Makenga as chief of the general staff and Freddy Kaniki as secretary-general, with Benjamin Bonimpa as deputy secretary-general.
- The new front replaces the Congo River Alliance (AFC), the political wing allied with M23, and also brings together several other armed groups. President Félix Tshisekedi's government gave no immediate reaction to Monday's launch.
Sources Split
LEFT
CENTER
RIGHT
+1
+1
+3
+1
+1
ESTAB
CRIT
CENTER
PRO
ESTAB
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Teaming up with a Rwanda-backed armed group betrays the very country once governed under a sworn oath to protect its people. Political change belongs at the ballot box and through constitutional channels, not in the hands of commanders who seize mineral-rich towns and drive families from their homes. A rebranded rebel front risks undermining the Qatari-mediated peace talks, prolonging the conflict and bringing more bloodshed to eastern Congo.
Government-critical narrative
Kinshasa had every opportunity to honor the ceasefire and engage in genuine national dialogue, but instead chose to pursue a war with no clear path to victory. Arming militias and shelling civilians while refusing meaningful negotiations is exactly what drives communities to organize resistance. Uniting the fragmented opposition under one banner is the only serious answer left to a government that consistently treats military force as its first option.
