A convicted war criminal, Thomas Lubanga, has announced the formation of a new rebel movement in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, posing a potential security threat to the region.
Lubanga, who was convicted by the International Criminal Court in 2012 for recruiting child soldiers, claims that his group, the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR), has both political and military elements.
Lubanga, who was released from prison in 2020, says that the CPR is necessary to bring about change in governance and government in the region.
He claims that the group has armed men in three areas of Ituri, but has not yet launched military operations. The Congolese presidency has not commented on the formation of the CPR.
Ituri has been plagued by violence from various armed groups for decades, with over 200 civilians killed and 100,000 displaced since the beginning of the year. The region is also home to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is affiliated with the Islamic State and has staged brutal attacks on villages.
