Criminal of war convicted Lubanga tells the world about a new rebel group in east Congo

A Uganda-based convicted war criminal has declared a new rebel group that aims to overthrow the government in the Ituri province of eastern Congo, posing yet another security risk to the war-torn area.

As the Congo’s army confronts an unprecedented assault by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels elsewhere in eastern Congo, Thomas Lubanga, a native of Ituri, founded the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR).

In 2012, Lubanga was found guilty for the first time of recruiting child soldiers by the International Criminal Court and given a 14-year prison sentence.

President Felix Tshisekedi named him to a task committee to bring peace to Ituri when he was freed in 2020. However, a rebel organization took him hostage for two months in 2022, which he attributes to the government. The group is currently based in Uganda.

According to Lubanga’s written answers to Reuters’ inquiry, the CPR has armed men in three parts of Ituri in addition to political and military components.

He stated that establishing peace in the region “requires an immediate change in governance and government,” but he clarified that the group has not initiated any military actions.

The number of combatants under Lubanga’s authority is unknown. Last year, he was accused by U.N. experts of organizing militants to aid M23 and a local militia.

A request for comment on Monday was not answered by the Congo’s presidency.

For decades, violence from a variety of armed organizations has shook Ituri. Last Monday, Doctors Without Borders reported “a renewed spike in atrocities” that have resulted in the deaths of over 200 civilians and the displacement of almost 100,000 people since the year’s start.

Ugandan troops are in Ituri to support the government in its fight against the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which brutally attacks villages.