13 Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) soldiers were on Wednesday sentenced to death by a garrison military court for fleeing from the enemy in Lubero territory, North Kivu province.  This is after they were charged with fleeing from the enemy, violation of instructions, desertion, dissipation of war munitions, and attempted rape.

The charges came after recent clashes with the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels. The clashes left many positions of the FARDC like Mbingi, Alimbongo, Vutsumbiro, and Matembe as well as the Uhanga military camp located between Luofu and Mbingi among others fall into the hands of M23 rebels.

During the clashes, residents accused FARDC soldiers of fleeing their positions even before the arrival of M23. FARDC soldiers were also accused of using the fighting time to carry out looting and sexual harassment of women.

Court presided over by Byamungu Munanira, President of the Butembo garrison military tribunal ruled that 13 of the 23 soldiers be sentenced to death because they caused murder, pillaging during the state of siege, and cowardice.

The court also sentenced four other soldiers to between 1-10 years imprisonment for dissipation of war munitions, violation of instructions, and simple theft. The court also acquitted six other soldiers due to a lack of evidence to pin them.

The case of one soldier was resubmitted for investigation.  Lieutenant Harris Kabundi Kabala, a public prosecutor welcomed the ruling saying that it is a purely educational trial that would allow other soldiers to comply. “We presented 23 defendants before the Butembo garrison military court as of yesterday, because as the prosecution, our role is to be able to investigate offences and bring the presumed guilty before their natural judges. For more than three decades, our country, the DRC, has been facing Rwandan aggression via the M23, and in this context, some soldiers on the front line have behaved badly, which is why, as the military prosecution, we wanted to restore discipline within the army and today we brought the defendants before them so that they can answer for their actions”, says Kabundi in a statement.

This is not the first time FARDC soldiers have been pinned for fleeing from the enemy in North Kivu province. In July 2024, 25 soldiers were sentenced to death, after M23 rebels.  This was after rebels captured Kanyabayonga, Miriki, Kimaka, Luofu, Kayna, and the military camp of Kasando, located about 4 kilometres from Kirumba town.

In February 2023, seven commandos were handed a death sentence after fleeing the fighting zone against M23 rebels towards Sake town while shooting and causing panic among thousands of civilians who also abandoned their homes and fled towards Goma, Minova, and Mubambiro. In October 2022, two soldiers were prosecuted after rebels captured the Uganda-DR Congo border of Bunagana and surrounding areas of Runyoni, Tcyanzu, Gisiza, Gasiza, Bugusa, Ceya, Mukingo, Bikeke, Ruseke, Shangi, Kabindi, and Tchengerero in Rutshuru territory.

The conflict between M23 rebels led by Bertrand Bisimwa and Emmanuel Sultan Makenga, and the Congolese government began in March 2022. The rebels now control significant parts of North Kivu province.

In August, the M23 leadership allied with Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, former chairman of the DRC’s electoral commission and leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), further escalating their insurgency.

The DRC government has accused Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels, a claim denied by both Rwanda and the M23. The rebels maintain that their fight is against corruption, xenophobia, and discrimination within the Congolese leadership.