Kabila launches FRN with M23 in Goma, challenging Tshisekedi
Former president Joseph Kabila will head a new political and military front that includes the M23 rebels, and one of its advisers says it may use force.
What happened
Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila presented a new coalition, the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), at a news conference at his residence in Goma on Monday, 12 October, according to Al Jazeera, drawing on AFP and AP reporting. M23 has controlled Goma since January 2025.
Kabila said he would head the FRN, with rebel leaders including Corneille Nangaa, former leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), as his deputies, Al Jazeera reported. DW reported that the leadership also includes M23 political leader Bertrand Bisimwa, that senior M23 military commander Sultani Makenga was given a senior role, and that the FRN succeeds the AFC.
FRN adviser Claude Ibalanky said the group aims to unite all resistance forces "to put an end to tyranny by any means necessary, including the use of force", according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reported no immediate response from the Congolese government. DW quoted Adolph Amisi Makutano, an official of the ruling UDPS party, who called the move "a disgrace for the DRC".
Context
A Congolese military court sentenced Kabila to death in absentia on 30 September 2025, after convicting him of treason, war crimes and other offences linked to the conflict in the east, DW reported. Al Jazeera reported that the court found he had collaborated with Rwanda and M23. Kabila calls the case politically motivated and denies the charges. Al Jazeera reported that the United States sanctioned him earlier this year over his alleged role in funding rebel groups.
Kinshasa, the United States and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, Al Jazeera and DW reported. Rwanda denies it.
Kabila led the country from 2001 to 2019. President Félix Tshisekedi's second term ends in 2028, and Al Jazeera reported that his allies have been preparing public opinion for changes to the two-term limit.
Government and M23 representatives were meant to meet in Qatar this month, Al Jazeera reported on 14 October, and analysts warn the new coalition could undermine those talks.
What analysts say
- Yvon Muya of the University of Ottawa told Al Jazeera: "You don't make an announcement like this without having prepared the actions that follow. We will likely witness an escalation on the military front."
- Conflict analyst Cliffton Chifuwe told DW the alliance "does not make peace impossible. However, it raises the threshold for achieving that settlement and its ability to hold."
- Alex Vines of the European Council on Foreign Relations told DW the move shows Kabila "is prepared to challenge Tshisekedi".
WatchfulEye's read
An ex-president heading a coalition that controls the east's main city, and that names force as an option, makes a negotiated settlement harder to design and harder to sell in Kinshasa. It does not by itself show that a wider offensive is imminent.
What we don't know
- How Kinshasa will respond on the record.
- Whether the talks in Qatar go ahead.
- Whether government soldiers defect, a fear Al Jazeera's correspondent in Goma reported.
- Whether Rwanda's posture changes.
Sources
- Al Jazeera (with AFP and AP), "Former DR Congo President Kabila joins M23 rebels in a new coalition", 13 October 2026: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/13/former-dr-congo-president-kabila-joins-m23-rebels-in-a-new-coalition
- DW, Kathy Short, "What Kabila's new armed coalition means for the DRC conflict", 13 October 2026: https://www.dw.com/en/dr-congo-kabila-s-move-towards-m23-raises-questions-over-peace/a-79652262
- Al Jazeera, "Ex-DRC President Kabila’s alliance with M23 rebels: Why it matters", 14 October 2026: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/ex-drc-president-joseph-kabila-joins-hands-with-m23-rebels-why-it-matters