Congolese military court convicts colonel and 3 soldiers in connection with killings of protesters

By JUSTIN KABUMBA
Associated Press

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A Congolese military court has sentenced a colonel to death after soldiers fired upon a crowd of protesters earlier this year. More than 50 people died in the town of Goma in August when a sect known as Wazalendo organized a demonstration against the U.N. peacekeeping mission. On Monday, a military court handed down the death sentence to Col. Mike Mikombe, former commander of the Republican Guard in Goma, in the east of the country. Another colonel who headed the Congolese armed forces regiment in Goma at the time was acquitted. Three other soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison.