A UN-backed Special Criminal Court (SCC) in the Central African Republic on Monday convicted and sentenced three militiamen for their role in a 2019 massacre in country’s north.

The three members of the armed group known as 3R, which stands for Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation, were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for attacks which claimed the lives of 46 villagers in May 2019.

After its first-ever trial, SCC handed down guilty verdicts along with one sentence of life imprisonment and two twenty-year sentences.

Prosecutors had been seeking life terms for all three of the accused.

On May 21, 2019, the villages of Koundjili and Lemouna in the north of the country were attacked by members of the 3R group.

The court found that armed assailants targeted “a civilian population not participating in hostilities.”

According to evidence submitted to the court, men in the villages were rounded up, tied up and then shot.

The court noted that victims had been subjected to psychological violence by being verbally abused before their executions, and that those found to still be breathing were shot to death.

One of the accused, who was a military chief, was also convicted for rapes committed by subordinates.

The court noted that the accused did not express any remorse or regret for their actions, while a lawyer for the convicted men indicated that they would appeal the ruling.

The ruling was greeted by relatives of the victims.

“I was there at the attack on Koundjili, where my elder brother … was killed, along with 13 other people I knew,” a 34-year-old man speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP news agency.

“I am pleased with the ruling and also that the court mentioned the rape, which affected six of my sisters.”

Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the verdict and sentence was a “major step for justice.”

“Today’s conviction sends a strong signal that those who commit the worst crimes in the Central African Republic can be held to account, even after so many years of widespread impunity,” Elise Keppler, associate international justice director for HRW said.

“The verdict is a milestone for the victims and communities that have been terrorized during the country’s conflicts,” Keppler added.

The Special Criminal Court is a domestic tribunal composed of local and international magistrates. The court’s officials were mandated by presidential decree to investigate, prosecute and judge serious human rights violations in CAR since 2003. While the tribunal was initially established in 2015, various challenges led to it only becoming fully operational in June 2021.

CAR is one of the world’s poorest countries and has been embroiled in successive armed conflicts along largely sectarian lines. The country is majority Christian with a Muslim minority, and home to more than 80 ethnic groups.

Tensions have been further compounded by decades of violence that forced people to band together for their own defense.