The International Criminal Court (ICC) has convicted two senior commanders of the anti-Balaka militia in the Central African Republic (CAR) for multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Muslim civilians during the 2013–2014 conflict.
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, a former president of the CAR Football Federation, and Alfred Yékatom, a former member of parliament and militia leader known as “Rambo,” were found guilty on Thursday for their roles in orchestrating brutal attacks as part of the predominantly Christian anti-Balaka armed group.
The court sentenced Yékatom to 15 years’ imprisonment for 20 war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Ngaïssona received a 12-year sentence for 28 similar charges. Both men had pleaded not guilty during a trial that began in 2021.
Delivering the verdict in The Hague, presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt recounted harrowing details of the violence perpetrated against the Muslim population by anti-Balaka forces under the defendants’ command. The attacks occurred following the March 2013 seizure of power by the predominantly Muslim Seleka coalition, which overthrew then-president François Bozizé. In retaliation, anti-Balaka militias launched a campaign of retribution that left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Judge Schmitt detailed incidents in which Yékatom’s forces tortured victims, including one man whose fingers, toes, and ear were severed. His body was never recovered. Others were reportedly killed and then mutilated. The violence also saw the destruction of mosques, homes, and businesses belonging to Muslims.
While the court found both men responsible for extensive crimes, it acquitted Yékatom of conscripting child soldiers and Ngaïssona of rape.
The case marked the ICC’s first trial focused on the violence that erupted in the CAR after the Seleka’s rise to power in 2013. Yékatom was arrested in the Central African Republic and extradited to The Hague in 2018 after discharging a firearm in parliament. Ngaïssona was arrested later that year in France and subsequently extradited.
The ICC continues to investigate other actors involved in the conflict. The trial of Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, an alleged Seleka commander, is currently ongoing. Last year, the court unsealed an arrest warrant for another anti-Balaka leader, Edmond Beina, accused of leading 100 to 400 fighters who killed Muslims in early 2014. Beina and five others are expected to face proceedings in the CAR at a specially established domestic court.
Read more at Al Jazeera here.