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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Rodney Muhumuza

As M23 rebel group advances in Congo, a new leader signals a shift in its identity

Congo - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

After Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took control of the biggest city in eastern Congo this week, the man who emerged from the shadows to assert his leadership was not the group's long-time military leader.

Sultani Makenga, an ethnic Tutsi rebel leader sanctioned by both the U.S. and the U.N., was nowhere to be seen in Goma’s Serena Hotel as the bearded Corneille Nangaa, in military fatigues, was ushered into the hall. Nangaa, who is not a Tutsi and who analysts say brings a more diverse, Congolese face to the group, told reporters of his plan to fight all the way to Kinshasa, the national capital a thousand miles away.

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