Former CAR football chief found guilty of war crimes

The International Criminal Court has found Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, former head of the Central African Republic’s football federation, guilty of 28 war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He and ex-militia commander Alfred Yekatom, known as Rambo, were accused of orchestrating brutal attacks on CAR’s Muslim population between 2013 and 2014.

Yekatom was found guilty of 20 charges. He’s been sentenced to 15 years in prison; Ngaïssona received 12 years.

Their trial lasted nearly four years, with more than 170 witnesses and 20,000 pieces of evidence presented.

Both men led anti-Balaka militias, mostly Christian fighters who rose up after Muslim Séléka rebels seized power in 2013, ousting President François Bozizé.

Prosecutors say Ngaïssona funded and directed the violence, while Yekatom led attacks on civilians in Bangui on December 5, 2013 when 1,000 people were killed, and half the capital fled.

Victims were tortured, buried alive, and targeted purely for being Muslim.

Both men denied the charges.

The ruling comes as CAR sees a fragile step toward peace, with two major rebel groups dissolving this month.