DRC: 25 soldiers sentenced to death for “fleeing before the enemy”
25 Congolese soldiers accused of “fleeing before the enemy” during the recent fighting against the M23 rebels were sentenced to death on Wednesday, July 3, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a one-day trial, we learned from one of their lawyers.
The convicts were all involved in the fight against the M23, which has taken control of large areas of North Kivu province with the support of the Rwandan army. A total of 31 defendants (27 soldiers and four civilian women, wives of soldiers) appeared in this trial in “flagrance” (immediate appearance) before the military garrison court of Butembo (North Kivu) sitting in a mobile court near the front line, in the village of Alimbongo.
Growing concern over the Congolese army’s inability to contain the M23 has led to suspicions of infiltration within the security forces. Since the start of the rebellion, numerous members of the armed forces, as well as political and economic figures in the east of the country, have been arrested for “complicity with the enemy”.