Six men went on trial in DR Congo on Friday accused of playing a role in the ethnic massacre of 37 people four years ago.
The suspects, including four soldiers, went on trial at a football stadium in the eastern village of Mutarule, where the members of the Bafulero ethnic group were killed in June 2014.
Only three of the accused were present for the two-hour hearing, with the three others still on the run and being tried in absentia. A seventh suspect has died since the massacre.
Most of the victims were children and women. They were knifed and shot to death, according to prosecutors. Most of them had been sleeping in a Protestant church after attending a service.
Major Kayumba Nyenyeri appeared in military uniform alongside fellow suspects Captain Enyabombi Tshaga and Sheria Kahungu, as a crowd of hundreds of people looked on.
The trio are charged with "war crimes by rape, pillage or murder" as well as "inciting soldiers to commit illegal acts and incitement to indiscipline".
"We only see before us two soldiers, but several officers mentioned in different documents are not here," local youth representative Etienne Togera told AFP.
"We fear that the trial will come to an end and they'll still be untouchable."
Defence lawyers have cast doubt on the authenticity of some 80 statements included in the indictment.
The UN's mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, publicly apologised and admitted partial responsibility for the massacre after US group Human Rights Watch accused peacekeepers and the Congolese army of failing to stop the killing.
MONUSCO observers were present for Friday's hearing.
The UN, Human Rights Watch and local sources say the perpetrators of the massacre were members of the Rwandan-speaking Barundi and Banyamulenge ethnic groups.
The Barundi and the Bafulero have been in conflict since the Belgian colonial era from 1908 to 1960, with a particularly bloody spike in the unrest in 2012.
The Barundi minority are seen as foreigners by the Bafulero, even though many of them can trace their local ancestry back to the 19th century.
The Banyamulenge, Tutsis who have lived in the high plateaus by the Ruzizi river since the 18th century, have also long been ostracised by those in power and other communities.
