A court in Congo Republic acquitted 15 suspects including several army generals on Wednesday of involvement in the murder and abduction of almost 100 young men, six years after the victims went missing, Reuters reported. Cheers erupted outside the courtroom from supporters of those cleared of charges including genocide and crimes against humanity in connection with the disappearance of returning refugees from a beach near the capital Brazzaville. "Congolese justice has done its work with impartiality," said the court president, Charles Emile Apesse, after the verdict was handed down, sparking shouts of joy and honking of car horns outside the court by the suspects' supporters. The court awarded 10 million CFA ($18,840) to the families of each of almost 100 victims identified by lawyers, compared to the 100 million CFA they had demanded. The court recognised that people had disappeared, but judged that the lawyers acting for the victims' families had not proved the accused were responsible. The case dates back to May 1999, when refugees from the country's civil war returning to their homeland across the Congo river were stopped by troops at the Brazzaville Beach port, according to testimony gathered by rights groups. --more 2328 Local Time 2028 GMT
