The Superior Council of Security Forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have requested President Fèlix Tshisekedi to lift the moratorium on capital punishment for rebel or treachery within the defence forces.
On Monday night, Tshisekedi met the High Defense Council to discuss pertinent security issues across the country, particularly in North Kivu Province, eastern DR Congo where tension has been rising following violent clashes between the Congolese Defence Forces (FARDC) and the M23-RDF rebels.
At the meeting, the High Defense council requested the President the temporal ban on serving of capital punishment for soldiers who are found “with questions of treachery within the Defense and Security Forces”.
This follows a growing number of FARDC soldiers shifting to side with the M23 rebel group who continue to occupy more territories in the east.
Meanwhile also at the meeting, the Prime Minister of Defence Jean-Pierre Bemba called on the population to calm down in the face of various reports and questions about the DR Congo’s strength and aggression as the war continues in the east.
“We must be careful of social networks which create a certain fear, a fragility in people’s minds. Be careful, this is not reality. The enemy has something to do with it. The FARDC is doing extraordinary work. The enemy is suffering enormous losses,” Bemba said.
