Written by Kelly Were
A convicted war criminal from Uganda has announced the creation of a new rebel group aimed at overthrowing the government in Ituri province, located in eastern Congo.
This movement, called the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR), could add another serious security threat to an already unstable region.
The group was formed by Thomas Lubanga, a native of Ituri, who was convicted by the International Criminal Court in 2012 for recruiting child soldiers and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
He was released in 2020 and was later appointed by President Felix Tshisekedi to a task force to bring peace to the region. However, in 2022, Lubanga was kidnapped by a rebel group for two months, which he blames on the government. He is now living in Uganda.
Lubanga said in a response to Reuters that the CPR has both political and military goals, with armed men already stationed in three areas of Ituri.
He believes that peace in the region can only come with a change in the current government, although the group has not yet started any military operations.
It is unclear how many fighters Lubanga commands, but U.N. experts have accused him of supporting local militias and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.
Ituri has been suffering from violence caused by armed groups for many years. Recently, Doctors Without Borders reported a significant rise in violence, with over 200 civilians killed and around 100,000 people displaced since the start of 2025.
Ugandan troops are also stationed in the region to help the government fight the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group linked to the Islamic State.
