The trial of 19 rebel officers accused of atrocities against civilians has opened in the rebel-held town on Gbadolite, in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 17 men and two women, who belong to Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), are accused of crimes including killing, torture, rape. The United Nations has accused the group of cannibalism but the MLC said it had found no evidence to support these allegations and no-one has been charged with cannibalism. Lawyers who were supposed to travel to Gbadolite for the trial on Monday, were prevented from leaving the capital, Kinshasa as the authorities there say the trial is a parody of justice. The United Nations said last month that the MLC and two smaller factions, including the RCD-National and the RCD-ML, had committed the atrocities between October and December in the eastern Ituri province. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.