Congo sentences 13 soldiers to death in bid to boost discipline

By Yassin Kombi

LUBERO, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A Congolese military tribunal has sentenced 13 soldiers to death on charges including murder, looting, and cowardice in what military authorities said was a drive to improve army discipline after territorial losses due to soldiers fleeing.

The soldiers were sentenced on Tuesday in the town of Lubero in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern North Kivu province, where Congolese forces have been fighting the Rwanda-backed M23 insurgency for nearly three years, as well as facing other militia violence.

Fighting has flared in Lubero territory and cases of soldiers abandoning their positions have helped the enemy advance, said local army spokesperson Mak Hazukay.

"Some of the soldiers who are supposed to be fighting the enemy at the front have shown a kind of indiscipline," he said. "We had to organise this educational trial to set things right."

Overall 24 soldiers stood trial. In addition to those handed death penalties, four received 2-10 year sentences, six were acquitted, and one's case was deferred for further investigation.

The hearings were intended "to help restore trust between the military and the population," military prosecutor Kabala Kabundi told Reuters.

All those convicted pleaded not guilty and have five days to appeal their sentence, Kabundi said. A lawyer for one of the defendants said they would appeal.

(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)