A military court in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has sentenced 66 soldiers to death after finding them guilty of cowardice, mutiny and refusing to obey orders during fighting against rebels in North Kivu province.

The Goma Garrison Military Court handed down the sentences late on Friday 6 November in Walikale, a town in the conflict-affected territory of the same name, after a 12-day trial of 71 soldiers from the Congolese army's 3415th Regiment.

Four soldiers were acquitted, including a captain who served as head of intelligence for the regiment. A sergeant was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the court accepted mitigating circumstances in his case.

Arrests followed clashes in Walikale

The soldiers were arrested on 20 October in the village of Ngora, in Walikale territory, over incidents in nearby Ntoto. Prosecutors said they had abandoned their positions and fled during clashes with fighters of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), a rebel coalition that includes the M23 group.

The trial began on 26 October and was expected to last 10 days, but ran for two days longer before the court delivered its verdict. The army said the proceedings were intended to reinforce discipline among troops as they battle armed groups in eastern DR Congo.

The charges also included the misuse of military ammunition, and the case followed shootings on 16 and 20 October in which two soldiers and one civilian were killed, according to reports of the trial.

Death penalty restored in 2024

DR Congo lifted a moratorium on the death penalty of more than 20 years in March 2024, with the government saying the punishment was needed against traitors and soldiers who commit grave crimes in wartime. No executions resulting from the Walikale verdict have been confirmed, and the convicted soldiers have the right to appeal to the High Military Court.

The ruling is the latest in a series of mass military trials. In October, a military court in South Kivu sentenced 27 soldiers to death on similar charges of abandoning frontline positions. Figures compiled by French broadcaster RFI indicate that at least 507 soldiers have been convicted since the start of 2025, including 381 death sentences.

Eastern DR Congo has endured decades of conflict, and fighting between government forces and the FRN-led rebel coalition continues across North and South Kivu, where questions of military discipline and battlefield withdrawals have become increasingly contentious.