A military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced 66 soldiers to death on charges including cowardice, mutiny and disobeying orders, following allegations they abandoned their positions during clashes with rebel forces. The ruling was delivered on November 6 in Walikale, North Kivu, according to the Congolese Press Agency.
The defendants were members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as FARDC. At least 71 soldiers had been arrested in separate incidents linked to fighting near the country’s borders with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The allegations included fleeing clashes with the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, or FRN.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for 70 defendants. The court acquitted four, while the sentence for the remaining defendant was not detailed consistently in the reports. The proceedings were held by the Goma Garrison Military Court.
Major Dieudonné Kasereka, the FARDC communications chief in the affected region, said the charges were intended to strengthen discipline in North and South Kivu, according to DW.
The FRN is an umbrella group that includes the March 23 Movement, or M23, and the Alliance River Congo, according to DW. The ruling concerns allegations of conduct during military operations; the reports do not establish whether the sentences have been carried out or whether appeals have been filed.
Reid Bentley