An army colonel has been given the punishment of death in the Democratic Republic of Congo for his part in causing the deaths of over 50 protesters in August. Col Mike Mikombe, a former leader of the special Republican Guard in Goma city, was blamed for commanding the shooting of people protesting against the United Nations. His lawyers stated that he will challenge the decision made by the military court.

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This is the most deaths that happened during a crackdown on protests against the UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo. The people protesting wanted the UN soldiers to leave because they believed that the soldiers were not doing a good job of keeping innocent civilians safe from rebel groups who have been attacking for many years. The United Nations has nearly 18,000 people working in the country.

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This includes over 12,000 soldiers, which makes it the second-biggest UN mission in the world. The August protests were planned by a group called Wazalendo (Patriots), who are Christians. They wanted the UN troops to leave the area. The people who were against something also wanted the Governor Ndima Kongba to quit his position. The Governor had previously stopped the demonstrations from happening.

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The governor has been removed and someone else has taken their place. The state prosecutor said that 56 regular people died and many others were hurt during the protests. This made other countries very angry and critical. Over 150 people got arrested when the security forces took strict action. In simpler words, the court listened to how soldiers shot at the protesters in the midst of chaos.

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It's believed that Colonel Mikombe gave them the order to do so. He said he was tricked by an order that said the sect members were part of the M23 rebel group. The rebels took over a large area in North Kivu province last year. In DR Congo, people are sometimes given the punishment of death, but no one has been actually killed for more than 20 years. The people usually get sentenced to life in prison.

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Col Mikombe and five other soldiers were put on trial together. Three people were given 10 years in prison as punishment, while two other people, including Col Mikombe's assistant, were found not guilty. In July 2022, a protest against the United Nations resulted in over 15 people losing their lives, including three peacekeepers.

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DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi, who wants to be elected again in December, has asked the UN troops to leave earlier this year instead of waiting until next year like they originally planned. Last year, a group from East Africa was sent to eastern DR Congo to help the Congolese military stop the fighting. However, they have also been criticized for not doing enough to make the situation stable.

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