(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has suspended the political party of former President Joseph Kabila and ordered the seizure of his assets, accusing the 53-year-old of high treason over alleged ties to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group.
In a statement late on Saturday, the country’s Interior Ministry said Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) was suspended for its “ambiguous attitude” towards the M23’s occupation of DRC territory.
The M23 rebellion has reignited violence in DRC’s mineral-rich eastern provinces, where conflict rooted in the spillover from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of minerals has persisted for decades.
The fighting has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, according to the United Nations. The M23 has taken two important cities, Goma and Bukavu, in the east since the start of the year.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Kabila of preparing “an insurrection” and backing an alliance that includes M23.
