3 Soldiers In Court Over Murder Of 5 Civilians In DR Congo
Although most of the details of the trial has been kept secret, it is involving the murder of the civilians by the errant soldiers.
The trial of three soldiers of the DR Congo national army accused of murdering five civilians in Minembwe situated in Fizi territory, opened on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 in the South Kivu Military Tribunal.
The South Kivu Military Tribunal was specially turned into a mobile court and moved to sit in Minembwe for the trial of the three soldiers whose identities have been kept secret by the military authorities.
The soldiers facing trial are those from the Rapid Reconnaissance Brigade and all are first class soldiers based in Minembwe.
They are accused of having killed four women and a young man aged 19. The reasons for their murdering the five civilians have not been made public.
Reliable sources in Mitembwe on Tuesday informed HumAngle that the victims were returning from the staff headquarters of the 12th Rapid Reaction Brigade where they had gone to demand for the liberation of their relatives who were being held by the army.
“It is strongly suspected that the five persons were killed in order to silence them from continuing action against some soldiers involved in unwholesome activities in the area,” a civil society activist who opted for anonymity for fear of reprisals from the army revealed.
The trial continues today, Wednesday July 7, 2021.
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