「敵前逃亡」で兵士２５人に死刑 コンゴ軍事法廷

【ベニ（コンゴ民主共和国）ＡＦＰ＝時事】コンゴ（旧ザイール）の軍事法廷は３日、ツチ人らで構成する反政府勢力「３月２３日運動（Ｍ２３）」との戦闘中に「敵前逃亡」した罪に問われた兵士２５人に対し、即決裁判で死刑を言い渡した。弁護人らが明らかにした。（写真は、コンゴ〈旧ザイール〉の北キブ州で、ツチ人らで構成する反政府勢力「Ｍ２３」との戦闘の前線に立つ兵士と民兵）
　軍事法廷は前線に近い北キブ州のブテンボ駐屯地で開かれた。兵士２７人とその妻のうち４人の計３１人が被告として出廷した。妻４人は民間人。
　弁護人の一人によると、３１人は「敵前逃亡」、軍需品の浪費、命令違反、窃盗などの罪に問われ、審問の結果、「大尉２人を含む２５人」に死刑判決が下された。弁護人側は控訴する意向。
　妻４人を含む残りの６人は、証拠不十分で無罪となった。
　Ｍ２３は先週末以降、北部戦線に位置する複数の町を占領している。その中には、ブテンボやベニといった主要都市への玄関口として戦略上重要なカニャバヨンガも含まれている。
　Ｍ２３は過去数年間で支配地を大幅に拡大。北キブ州の州都ゴマをほぼ包囲し、大勢の人々を殺害している。
　国連人道問題調整室（ＯＣＨＡ）によると、同州ではすでに２８０万人が避難民となっている。
　コンゴ政府は隣国ルワンダがＭ２３を支援していると非難しているが、ルワンダ側は否定している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/04-19:04）

Twenty-five soldiers accused of fleeing the enemy while fighting M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo were sentenced to death Wednesday during a one-day trial, according to their lawyers.
A total of 31 defendants, including 27 soldiers and four of their civilian wives, appeared before the Butembo garrison military court in North Kivu province, near the front line.
They had faced several charges including fleeing the enemy, dissipating munitions of war, violating orders and theft, Jules Muvweko, one of defence lawyers told AFP.
At the end of the hearing, 25 soldiers, including two captains, were sentenced to death, Muvweko said, adding the defence intended to appeal.
The other accused, including the four women, were acquitted for lack of evidence, he said.
Since the end of last week, the M23 (March 23 movement) have taken several towns on the northern front of the conflict.
Their gains include the strategic town of Kanyabayonga, which is seen as a gateway to the major commercial centres of Butembo and Beni.
The M23 have also seized vast swathes of territory over the past several years, almost completely encircling Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, killing scores of people and displacing hundreds of thousands more.
There are already 2.8 million displaced people in North Kivu, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group, which Kigali denies.
DR Congo's mineral-rich east has been racked for 30 years by fighting between both local and foreign-based armed groups, going back to regional wars of the 1990s.
Last March, the Congolese government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty which had been in force since 2003 in the country.
The measure targeted in particular soldiers accused of treason, at a time when the east of the country is in the grip of an armed rebellion.
In early May, eight Congolese soldiers, including five officers, were sentenced to death in Goma for cowardice and fleeing the enemy.