(Bloomberg) -- Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi said the country’s former president is backing a rebel movement to overthrow his administration.
In an interview with broadcaster Top Congo FM, Tshisekedi said Joseph Kabila is behind the Congo River Alliance, or AFC, which is supporting the M23 rebellion in the east of the country. The US sanctioned the AFC last month for “driving political instability, violent conflict, and civilian displacement.”
Kabila “is preparing an insurrection — because the AFC, that’s him,” Tshisekedi said in the interview on Tuesday in Belgium, where he’s undergoing medical treatment. His office shared the interview with journalists Wednesday.
“President Kabila does not respond to this kind of nonsense,” the former president’s longtime colleague and ex-ambassador Barnabe Kikaya Bin Karubi told Bloomberg Wednesday. “He has never reacted to Mr. Tshisekedi’s provocations and he is not going to start today.”
More than 1.8 million people have been displaced by the M23 rebellion since 2021, which Congo and United Nations experts say is backed by neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies the accusations.
The group says it’s protecting the rights of Congolese of Tutsi heritage.
Last month, Rwanda and Congo agreed to a cease-fire agreement brokered by Angola that went into effect Sunday, despite some ongoing advances by the M23.
Tshisekedi said Rwanda asked for the cease-fire through US officials and praised Angolan President Joao Lourenco and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for helping to push for a peace agreement.
“I’m convinced we’re on the right track thanks to these partners and that we’ll have a solution. I’m truly convinced this time,” he said.
Tshisekedi said a parallel peace process through Kenya had stalled and been “very, very badly managed” by current President William Ruto, who, he said, has been “taking” the “side” of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
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