Congo's senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of lifting former President Joseph Kabila's immunity from prosecution in a late night vote on Thursday over his alleged links to the M23 rebel group.

Kabila is wanted in Congo for alleged crimes against humanity for supporting the insurgency in the east, including a role in the massacre of civilians and personnel. Congo has also moved to suspend his political party and seize the assets of its leaders.

Kabila, who denies any ties to the rebel group, stepped down after almost 20 years in power in 2018, yielding to protests. He has been out of the Central African country since late 2023, mostly in South Africa.

The senate backed lifting his immunity by 88 votes to 5 in a secret ballot.

Kabila has been threatening to return to Congo for weeks to help find a solution to the crisis in the east, where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels now control large swathes of territory.

A return to Congo by Kabila could complicate the bid to end the rebellion in eastern Congo, which contains vast supplies of critical minerals that President Donald Trump's administration is keen to access.

Washington is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month.

Kabila came to power in 2001 after his father's assassination. He refused to stand down when his final term officially ended in 2016, leading to deadly protests, before agreeing to leave office following an election in 2018.