9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Military Court of the Butembo Garrison (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) sentenced 22 soldiers to death on Monday for “fleeing the enemy” in the town of Lubero and for taking ammunition as well as committing robberies and rapes, all in the context of fighting in the province of North Kivu (east) against the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23).
“These are soldiers who have been prosecuted for stealing war munitions, fleeing from the enemy, rape and robbery,” said a member of the public prosecutor’s office identified as Kahambu Mélissa.
In addition to the 22 death sentences, the court also sentenced three soldiers to 10 years in prison and another to 20 years, according to the Congolese news site 7sur7.
Three army captains had to appear before the court for the escape of numerous soldiers in the face of the advances of the M23 in Lubero, although they have ended up being acquitted.
Last week, another DRC military court sentenced 25 soldiers to death on charges of abandoning their positions during fighting with the M23, a rebel group made up mainly of Congolese Tutsis and operating mainly in the province. Following a conflict between the DRC and the group in 2012 and 2013, a peace agreement was signed in December by the DRC and the group. In the fighting, the Congolese army was supported by UN troops.
The group launched a new offensive in October 2022, which intensified from November, triggering a diplomatic crisis between the DRC and Rwanda over its role in the conflict. Kigali has accused Kinshasa of supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed rebel group founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
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