Kabila was in Goma, a city in the east of the country, on Thursday when the M23 militia seized it along with several other areas earlier this year.
Without releasing a statement, an AFP team of journalists witnessed Kabila meet local religious leaders in Lawrence Kanyuka, the M23 spokesperson.
According to Reuters, the former president spoke with locals in Goma, according to three unnamed sources close to Kabila.
The former president is scheduled to meet with the former president as part of a possible treason trial for his alleged support for M23.
Kabila’s immunity was lifted earlier this month, allowing for his prosecution.
The ex-president, who has been living in self-imposed exile since 2023, denies the allegations and criticizes the charges against him as “arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity.”
A Kabila aided by a member of his entourage told AFP on Thursday that they both had the “same goal” in mind when they attempted to end the presidency of Felix Tshisekedi, despite the absence of a formal alliance between their parties.
Rwanda’s government and the UN claim that Rwanda has backed the M23 with weapons and troops, which the neighboring nation denies.
Concerned that the renewed violence will elicit a full-fledged conflict similar to the ones that the DRC experienced in the late 1990s, when several African nations joined forces and carried out massacres that claimed the lives of millions of people.
According to the UN, about 700,000 people have already been displaced by the current fighting this year.
Amnesty International accused M23 of carrying out abuses against civilians in areas under its control on Tuesday, including “torture, killings, and enforced disappearances.”
The organization stated in a statement that “These acts may amount to war crimes because they violate international humanitarian law.”
Source: Aljazeera
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