Updated

A Congolese court has sentenced nine rebels to death and acquitted two others as the government seeks to hold a rebel group accountable for attacks that have killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Congo since October 2014.

Presiding judge Lt. Col. Jean-Paulin Esosa Basema said Friday that the convicted were prosecuted for crimes against humanity, terrorism and participation in a rebellion. They are members of the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group that was founded in neighboring Uganda but is now based in Congo.

The trial of more than 100 defendants began in December. The ADF rebels are among scores of armed groups vying for control in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The judge says a third defendant was transferred to a court for minors.