Trial begins for Congolese military and Anvil Mining ex-employees accused of crimes related to the October 2004 Kilwa massacre

12 December 2006

Press Release

The trial of former Colonel Ademar Ilunga and eight of his subordinates for breaches of the Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols will open on Tuesday, 12 December in Lubumbashi, DR Congo before the Military Court of Katanga (Case Number R.P 010/06). Anvil Mining Congo and three former employees face charges of complicity in war crimes. The trial concerns extrajudicial killings, torture, rape and looting carried out by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) in October 2004 in the town of Kilwa, which is located in the mineral rich Katanga Province of the DRC. These crimes occurred during an operation to suppress a small-scale rebellion in Kilwa.