Bukavu, Congo (AP)-the process of 84 Congolese soldiers accused of murder, rape and other crimes against civilians in the conflict-bated east of the country opened on Monday.
The soldiers are accused of being brought to various villages of Kabare and Kalehe areas in the eastern province of South Kivu in various villages in the eastern province throughout the weekend. They would have raped several women and killed at least 12 people, said Pascal Mpenda, one of the lawyers who represent the civil victims.
“They turned their weapons against the civilian population they had to protect while the enemy was at our doors,” Mpenda told the Associated Press, adding that more accused soldiers will be brought to court in the coming days.
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The accused soldiers were brought before a military court in Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu. The civil party asked for the death penalty for all accused. Congo lifted a more than 20-year moratorium on the death penalty in March, a decision criticized by law activists. The last version took place in 2003.
Zawadi Chapo Ombeni, a resident of Kavumu, said he was beaten and robbed by soldiers while he prepared to flee the village of the progress of the rebels.
“We were robbed by military personnel known to the state that serves the state,” Ombeni said the AP over the phone. “We ask the state to compensate for because everything we had was taken away by this military staff.”
The process comes when M23 rebels are reportedly supported by Rwanda on Bukavu after they have conquered the most important city of Goma in the neighboring province of North Kivu. About 3,000 people have been killed and almost as much injured since the end of January.
Last week the rebels announced a unilateral -the fire to facilitate humanitarian aid, but the Congolese government later rejected as a 'false communication'.
On Thursday the rebels went to the province of South Kivu and, according to Nene Bintou, president of civil society in the province, were 50 kilometers from Bukavu.
The rebels are supported by around 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to the UN experts. They are the most powerful of the more than 100 armed groups that are active in Congo's East, which has huge mineral deposits that are crucial for much of the technology of the world.
On Friday, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations has launched a committee that will inquire about atrocities, including rapes and summary executions committed by both Congo's Army and M23 in Eastern Congo since the beginning of the year.
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Kabumba reported Van Goma, Congo. Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa has contributed to this report Congo.
