# Congo River Alliance

The Congo River Alliance (French: Alliance Fleuve Congo; AFC) is a Congolese rebel coalition led by former Independent National Electoral Commission President Corneille Nangaa. The coalition consists of armed opposition groups and political parties that seek to overthrow the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The coalition's principal member is the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwandan-backed rebel group which has been the target of economic sanctions by the United States and United Nations.

## Background

Corneille Nangaa, the future leader of the group, previously served as the director of the DRC's Independent National Electoral Commission from 2015 to 2021. In that role, he oversaw elections in the country and certified Félix Tshisekedi as the winner of the disputed 2018 presidential election, despite numerous reports that Tshisekedi's main rival, Martin Fayulu, had won.
In February 2023, he announced the formation of a new political party, the Action for the Dignity of Congo and its People (ADCP), with a platform focused on transforming the DRC into a "business land." He planned to run candidates at all levels for the upcoming 2023 general election, including running for the presidency himself. He later engaged in a public dispute with Tshisekedi over the alleged backroom deals linked to the 2018 vote, and in August 2023, exiled himself from the country, believing his security was no longer guaranteed there.

## History

On 15 December 2023, a few days before the 2023 elections, Nangaa signed an agreement in Nairobi, Kenya with M23 and nine other armed groups, forming a new political-military alliance at achieving "national unity and stability" in the DRC. Nangaa criticized the inability of the government to maintain authority, promising to restore stability and create a more suitable economic environment. Nangaa also denounced the "plundering of public property" and "misappropriation of funds".
M23 called the new alliance a platform for peace, while the ruling party called it a "kind of a rebellion". The Kenyan government distanced itself from Nangaa's actions but rejected the DRC's request to arrest the opposition figures on the basis of freedom of speech. Nangaa later announced that his platform comprised 17 political parties, two political groupings, and several armed groups.
On 25 July 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the Congo River Alliance.
On 6 August 2024, President Félix Tshisekedi accused former President Joseph Kabila of backing the Congo River Alliance.
On 8 August 2024, a DRC military court tried and sentenced Nangaa in absentia to the death penalty for war crimes, participation in an insurrection, and treason.
On 30 November 2024, the group rejected a ceasefire that was mediated by Angola under the African Union's mandate, accusing the Kinshasa government of violating the truce.
On 25 January 2025, the group called on "all members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) present in Goma and its surroundings to lay down their weapons within 48 hours". One of its members, M23, recently captured Sake, a strategic town 27 kilometres from Goma, suggesting that the group might move imminently to capture the city.
After two days of fighting, on 27 January 2025, M23 claimed to have captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu. In an interview before the offensive on the city, Nangaa said, "Our objective is neither Goma nor Bukavu but Kinshasa, the source of all the problems."
The group took control of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, on 16 February 2025.
On 9 March 2025 the Front Commun de la Résistance (FCR)—a coalition of the FPP-AP and Mapenzi's Nduma Défense du Congo-Rénové (NDC-R) formally aligned with M23, AFC units, and joined the Congo River Alliance.

## Members

Members of the Congo River Alliance include:
* March 23 Movement
* PARECO
* Kyahanda
* FPDC
* Twirwaneho
* Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri
* Chini ya Kilima
* Zaïre-FPAC
* Action for the Dignity of Congo and its People

## Parallel administration

The Congo River Alliance has appointed the following as "governors" for areas they control:
* Joseph Bahati Musanga - North Kivu
* Emmanuel Birato - South Kivu