DR Congo military court sentences 26 armed group members to death | Conflict News [Video]

A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sentenced 26 people accused of involvement in armed groups, including the M23, to death after a high-profile trial that started late last month.

Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) was found guilty of war crimes, participation in an insurrection and treason.

Nangaa and 20 other defendants were sentenced to death in absentia on Thursday, as they are currently on the run.

The five accused who were present for the trial have five days to appeal the sentence, the president of the court said.

The prosecutor in the trial, which began on July 24, had called for death sentences against 25 of the defendants and a 20-year jail term for one defendant.

Nangaa, the former president of the DRC’s electoral commission, launched the AFC political-military movement in December with the aim of uniting armed groups, political …