Dozens of Congolese soldiers who escaped are being tried for violence

At least 75 Congolese troops will stand trial on Monday for escaping Rwanda-backed M23 rebels’ push into the eastern region of South Kivu and for engaging in crimes against civilians, including looting and murder, the military prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday.

Following a significant M23 offensive in late January that resulted in the takeover of Goma, the main city in the east Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN has documented widespread abuses, including gang rape, sexual enslavement, and summary killings.

The U.N. human rights office discovered that pro-government militias, Congolese military, and M23 insurgents were all involved.

Congo has urged the U.N. to look into crimes it attributes to Rwanda and M23 rebels, but it has not responded to claims involving its forces.

Rwanda has denied any responsibility and denies supporting the gang. Requests for comment have not received a response from M23 rebels.

The Tutsi-led rebels have persisted in their march southward into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, in spite of declaring a unilateral truce.

They took over Nyabibwe, a town some 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of the provincial capital, last week.

Following Nyabibwe’s surrender, the 75 soldiers on trial were taken into custody for evading the front line. The military prosecutor’s office informed Reuters that they are charged with rape, murder, looting, and rebellion.

According to the administration, other people who were detained on the same accusations further south are anticipated to accompany them in the dock.

Ten individuals, including seven people seated in a bar on Friday night, were slain by deserting soldiers, according to a civil society source in Kavumu, a hamlet 35 kilometers north of Bukavu and the location of the city’s airport.

According to Leonidas Tabaro, another local civil society leader, “acts of looting by our uncontrolled soldiers who have fled in the face of the enemy are still being recorded.”

Nestor Mavudisa, the provincial army spokesperson, urged the populace to maintain composure and promised to punish the renegade troops.

Fighting did not seem to have significantly increased over the weekend. Along with other intermittent firefights in the region, clashes were reported at a national park some 30 kilometers from Bukavu.

In the unstable east of Congo, ethnic Tutsi-led rebel groups have long existed, with the well-equipped M23 being the most recent. The rebel group and Rwanda reject Congo’s government’s claim that it is a Rwandan proxy.

African leaders called for direct discussions between all sides at an unusual combined meeting of Eastern and Southern African blocs last week in an effort to defuse the situation.

The government of Congo said on Sunday that it has noted the choices made during the summit.