The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has sentenced to death 25 soldiers accused of fleeing fighting against M23 rebels.
According to military prosecutors at court martial, the soldiers were part of troops sent to the lush hillsides near Lake Kivu to repel a rebel advance threatening Goma, but were said to have abandoned their positions without a fight.
Meanwhile, reports say the army unit’s commander faked a medical note to justify returning to Goma as the M23 movement closed on their position, forcing his troops to act without a leader.
The case has however exposed damaging disarray in Congo’s armed forces, which have faced a cascade of losses as they struggle to curb a two-year uprising in the eastern borderlands with Rwanda.
