DRC: 66 soldiers sentenced to death for cowardice

What the report says

A military court in Walikale Centre, North Kivu Province, has sentenced 66 Congolese army soldiers to death after finding them guilty of cowardice, mutiny and disobeying orders, according to The Observer. The case involved 71 members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) accused of abandoning their positions and fleeing during fighting with the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), the group formerly known as M23/AFC.

The newspaper reported that most of the defendants were arrested after the clashes in eastern DR Congo, including 54 soldiers detained in Ngora on October 20, 2026, while others were picked up later. A FARDC communications officer said prosecutors had sought death sentences for nearly all of the accused, along with a prison term for one military intelligence officer. The court ultimately acquitted four soldiers, gave one sergeant a 10-year hard-labour sentence, and imposed the death penalty on the rest convicted.

The ruling is the latest in a series of harsh military punishments linked to battlefield retreats in the east of the country. The Observer said similar cases have been heard in recent years as the army seeks to enforce discipline during operations against armed groups. The article also placed the verdict in the wider context of renewed fighting between government forces and FRN/M23 rebels in North and South Kivu, where clashes continue to displace civilians and disrupt transport and supply routes.