How will a new alliance affect the conflict in eastern DRC?
Video Duration 27 minutes 30 seconds 27: 30. Former President Joseph Kabila has joined forces with M23 fighters.
Video Duration 27 minutes 30 seconds 27: 30. Former President Joseph Kabila has joined forces with M23 fighters.
Article outline
- What happened
- Why it matters
- The bottom line
Key points
- Henry-Pacifique Mayala – Coordinator of the Kivu Security Tracker at the Ebuteli institute.
- Ovigwe Eguegu – Policy analyst at Development Reimagined, specialising in African geopolitics and great power competition.
- Vincent Rouget – Head of political risk for Africa at Control Risks, a global consultancy.
- He ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for almost two decades.
- This time, he's formed a coalition with M23 fighters in eastern DRC.
He ruled the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for almost two decades. And now, Joseph Kabila is making a comeback.
Kabila will lead the political-military alliance. It opposes the administration in Kinshasa. Plenty of say the move will worsen the fighting in eastern DRC.
Notably, a number of attempts to reach a peace agreement between administration forces, rebels and armed groups in the region have so far failed. Is this coalition probable to escalate the fighting?
Vincent Rouget – Head of political risk for Africa at Control Risks, a global consultancy. Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026.
In short, how will a new alliance affect the conflict in eastern DRC? Is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.




