The Special Criminal Court in the Central African Republic has convicted three militiamen over war crimes committed in 2019 in the north-west of the country.
Over 60 percent of the mineral-rich country still spinning from a civil war remains under rebel control. Monday’s ruling is a historic conviction by the Court that was established in Bangui four years ago to prosecute war crimes committed in the CAR since 2003.
The first conviction was issued against Issa Sallet Adoum and Ousman Yaouba who received 20 years each, while Tahir Mahamat received a life sentence for killing dozens of civilians in north-western CAR in 2019.
The three were members of the 3R group of insurgents that was formed in 2015 during the sectarian conflict in the CAR.
Several other militia leaders are facing war crimes cases at the Hague-based International Criminal Court over the CAR’s civil war.
In a 2019 peace deal between the CAR government and key rebel groups unravelled when the latter mounted an insurgency to remove President Faustin Touadéra from power.