The MLC movement started in the Orientale Province of the DRC in 1998 at the beginning of the Second Congo War. Said Bemba of its founding: "I had identified the possibility of launching an armed movement. So I went looking for serious partners. There were two countries in the region that were interested but I chose to present my dossier to the Ugandans. They liked it and so I went in." Little by little, the movement moved into the Équateur province, and established a permanent base in Gbadolite. Like many of the rebel groups at the time, the MLC's goal was to take the capital of Kinshasa.