One of the senior commanders of the Congolese army, Colonel Serge Mavinga has been arrested after fleeing from the battlefield during the recent fight against M23 rebels, apparently abandoning his soldiers, local media reported Wednesday quoting a military source in DR Congo.
The arrest comes after heavy fighting erupted overnight and continued on Wednesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when fighters of the M23 engaged with Congolese army near the border with Rwanda.
Col. Mavinga’s arrest comes after the military in the DRC court martialed two colonels for failing to prevent the fall of Bunagana town in Rutshuru territory to battle hardened M23 rebels.
According to details, the officers Colonels Désiré Lobo and Jean-Marie Diadia wa Diadia are commanders of the 3,412 and 3,307th regiments respectively.
They are charged with four counts: flight from the enemy, abandonment of weapons and ammunition, violation of instructions and embezzlement of public funds.
The defendants were in charge of military operations at the time of the fall of the city of Bunagana into the hands of the M23 in July.
They were fighting the M23 in the region of Tchengerero and Bunagana.
The prosecutor at the military court accuses them of having caused the fall of Bunagana, by abandoning weapons, ammunition but also by leaving certain army vehicles in the hands of the M23.
CU/as/APA