Overview

• Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom are the first anti-Balaka commanders to be found guilty by the International Criminal Court.
• Ngaïssona was handed a 12-year sentence on 28 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for orchestrating violence against Muslim communities.
• Yekatom, known as “Rambo,” received 15 years after judges ruled he led about 3,000 fighters and praised atrocities including murder and torture.
• The court detailed horrific abuses such as forcible transfers of civilians, mutilations and systematic persecution of Muslim populations.
• Separate trials of former Seleka leaders are still under way at The Hague as the ICC extends its accountability efforts.