DR Congo Accuses Former President Kabila of Planning Attack After M23 Alliance

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused former president Joseph Kabila of preparing a broad attack against the country after aligning with the M23 armed group.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told AFP that Kabila had chosen to formalise what he described as a widespread assault against the Republic. Muyaya said the decision to take up arms meant killing Congolese people in an effort to capture territory.

The allegation has not been independently verified. Kabila has not been reported as responding directly to the accusation.

New politico-military alliance

Kabila joined M23 leaders on Monday to create the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN. The organisation was presented as a politico-military movement intended to combine its members’ strengths, resources and means.

Kabila is expected to lead the new group, with M23 leaders serving as deputies. The FRN has said its objective is to end what it calls tyranny by any means, including force.

Muyaya rejected the formation as a change in appearance rather than substance. He said the people involved and the nature of the movement remained the same, describing its stated plans as known to the authorities.

Congolese authorities have also accused Kabila of helping initiate the Congo River Alliance, which was described as the now-dissolved political wing of M23.

Conflict in eastern DR Congo

Kabila, who ruled the country from 2001 to 2019, reappeared in Goma in May 2025 after spending several years outside the country. He has since made regular visits to territory held by rebels, according to the report.

In early 2025, an offensive led by M23 and the Rwandan army resulted in the capture of Goma and Bukavu. The front line has since stabilised, but fighting continues, including drone strikes and artillery exchanges, particularly in South Kivu province.

Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia a year before the report for complicity with M23, according to the account. The details of the sentence and the court that issued it were not provided.

Political tensions

The former president criticised the government in a speech posted online on Friday, accusing it of being motivated solely by its own continuation in power.

His intervention comes amid wider political tensions. Opposition rallies held in June and September protested a proposed constitutional amendment that opponents said could clear the way for President Felix Tshisekedi to seek a third term.

Tshisekedi, 63, is serving his second term, which is constitutionally scheduled to end in 2028. The main opposition coalition has so far kept its distance from Kabila.