Congo accuses Kabila of a 'general attack' alongside M23 rebels

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's government has accused former president Joseph Kabila of preparing a "general attack" after he took leadership of a coalition including M23 rebels. ^[1]

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya made the accusation in an interview with AFP, following Kabila's public launch of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN, in the eastern city of Goma on October 12. The coalition includes senior figures from M23 and its former political wing. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Kabila governed Congo from 2001 to 2019 and previously served as army chief. His emergence at the head of a movement that explicitly allows for armed action brings a former head of state into direct political alignment with rebels who seized two major eastern cities last year. ^{[1] [2]}

Muyaya told AFP that Kabila had decided to formalise a "general attack" against the republic. He said taking up arms meant killing Congolese people in an effort to conquer territory. ^[1]

The coalition has itself left force on the table. Claude Ibalanky, an adviser to the FRN, said it aimed to unite resistance forces and end what it called tyranny "by any means necessary, including the use of force." ^{[2] [3]}

The coalition's launch and declared willingness to use force are established. No evidence of a planned attack accompanied the government's accusation, and no new offensive, troop defections or operational orders from Kabila have been established. Kabila has denied earlier accusations of involvement with M23, but his response to Muyaya's latest accusation has not been reported. ^{[1] [2]}

A former president takes the lead

Kabila announced at the Goma news conference that he would lead the FRN. The involvement of M23 figures gives the new organisation a connection to an armed movement that already holds territory, rather than merely a platform for opposition speeches. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

That is the political change behind the government's charge. Kabila is putting his name and presidential history at the head of a coalition whose stated methods include force. His background gives the coalition a different political point of appeal from the rebel leadership alone, as fighting continues in eastern Congo, where the front line had stabilised, according to AFP. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The new alignment follows an already severe confrontation between Kabila and the state he once led. In 2025, a Congolese military court sentenced him to death in absentia on charges including treason and collaboration with M23. Kabila denied the charges and said the case was politically motivated. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The sentence and the coalition launch are separate events. The public alliance now gives the government a new basis for attacking Kabila politically, but it does not resolve the dispute over his earlier conduct or turn the latest accusation into proof of an attack plan.

Kabila has also set out his own charge against the authorities. In a speech posted online on Friday, he accused the Congolese government of being "motivated solely by its own perpetuation in power." ^[1]

The two sides are presenting rival claims to political legitimacy. The government describes the coalition as a threat to the republic.

The FRN presents resistance, including possible armed resistance, as a means of ending tyranny. Those positions leave little room for treating its launch as routine opposition organising. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

An alliance built on territory already taken

M23-led forces captured Goma and Bukavu in an offensive in early 2025. Fighting has continued in eastern Congo, including South Kivu, although the front line had stabilised, according to AFP. ^[1]

Goma therefore matters twice in this story: as one of the cities taken by the rebels, and as the place where a former Congolese president announced that he would lead a coalition including them. The launch brings a national political figure into an alliance rooted in the war's territorial gains. ^{[1] [2]}

One potential consequence is a change in the loyalties of government troops. An Al Jazeera reporter said people feared both an escalation of the conflict and the possibility that soldiers would defect to Kabila. A researcher interviewed by the broadcaster also assessed that the announcement could increase the chance of confrontation. Those were warnings about what might follow. ^[2]

Peace efforts face another pressure

The alliance has emerged alongside two separate diplomatic efforts. Congo and Rwanda signed a US-led peace agreement in June 2025. Congo and M23-AFC have also pursued a separate negotiating process in Doha. ^[3]

Analysts cited by Al Jazeera warned that the FRN's creation could undermine the Doha talks. The coalition's stated willingness to use force creates an immediate tension with efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting. ^[3]

The next test is what Kabila's coalition does with that declaration. Its political programme permits armed action, while the government is treating his leadership as preparation for an attack. Whether the FRN turns that position into military action, and how its formation affects the Doha process, are now the developments to watch. ^{[1] [2] [3]}