Prosecutor in former Congo president case wants death penalty critics view as aimed at settling of scores than quest for truth

Prosecutor in former Congo president case wants death penalty critics view as aimed at settling of scores than quest for truth

In court on Friday, General Lucien René Likulia representing the prosecution also asked, in addition to the death penalty, for a 20-year-sentence for Kabila’s alleged apologetic behaviour for war crimes and 15 years for conspiracy. The general did not elaborate on those charges or say what they refer to.

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Inside Congo’s killing fields, sickly and exploited artisanal miners slave away for world’s indifferent tech economies

Inside Congo’s killing fields, sickly and exploited artisanal miners slave away for world’s indifferent tech economies

Josaphat Musamba, a Congolese researcher and PhD student at Ghent University in Belgium, said suppressing the militia would be a tall order for the DRC’s military, which is no longer present in large swathes of M23-controlled territory.

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43 worshippers killed in Catholic Church by  ADF rebels in Ituri Province of DR Congo

43 worshippers killed in Catholic Church by ADF rebels in Ituri Province of DR Congo

The ADF has roots in Uganda dating back to the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator, Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim.

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‘We’re getting for US a lot of mineral rights from the Congo’, Trump makes American interests clear in DRC, Rwanda peace deal

‘We’re getting for US a lot of mineral rights from the Congo’, Trump makes American interests clear in DRC, Rwanda peace deal

Rwanda has sent at least 7,000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern Congo’s two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year.

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ICC to renew crimes against humanity in eastern Congo as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels accused of executing civilians in Goma

ICC to renew crimes against humanity in eastern Congo as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels accused of executing civilians in Goma

Human Rights Watch confirmed that M23 fighters executed seven people on streets close to Katindo Camp and received credible reports of dozens more killings.

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Drunk with power and booze-driven state-funded Wazalendo militias, DRC army accused of same crimes M23 rebels commit

Drunk with power and booze-driven state-funded Wazalendo militias, DRC army accused of same crimes M23 rebels commit

Outside of Goma, Wazalendo groups have used their newfound legitimacy to increase their revenue-raising activities, setting up roadblocks in the areas they control where trucks, motorbikes and pedestrians must pay taxes to get through.

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Irony of DR Congo turning to abusive Wazalendo militias to help national army to fight M23 rebels

Irony of DR Congo turning to abusive Wazalendo militias to help national army to fight M23 rebels

Increasing Rwandan support has allowed the M23 to massively expand its footprint this year, overshadowing other insurgencies in the east and raising the risk of a major regional conflagration between Rwanda and DRC and its allies.

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Martial court in Congo sentences to death leaders of rebel coalition unveiled in Kenya last year

Martial court in Congo sentences to death leaders of rebel coalition unveiled in Kenya last year

The AFC is a political-military movement launched by Nangaa in December with the aim of uniting armed groups, political parties and civil society against Congo’s government. One of its most renown members is the M23, an armed group accused of mass killings in eastern Congo’s decadeslong conflict.

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Jittery Congo Presidents Tshisekedi questions predecessor Joseph Kabila’s links with US-sanctioned rebels

Jittery Congo Presidents Tshisekedi questions predecessor Joseph Kabila’s links with US-sanctioned rebels

President Tshisekedi’s accusation follows the US announcement of sanctions against the AFC last month. Washington accused the alliance of seeking to overthrow Congo’s government and fueling conflict in the east of the country. It said the main member of the alliance, the renowned rebel group M23, is already under US sanctions.

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