Loyalists of former Military Intelligence Chief, Col. Marcel Ntsourou, are are accused of a deadly shoot-out last December with security forces.

A court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, has begun the trial of 114 people, most of them soldiers, accused of involvement in a bloody shoot-out at the home of Col. Marcel Ntsourou in the Plateau des 15-Ans, Moungali, neighbourhood of the city on December 15, 2013.

Troops had tried to arrest the former Second-in-Command of General Intelligence and ex-Chief of Military Intelligence after he threatened to make incriminating revelations about alleged human rights violations in the country. The threat came on the heels of his suspended conviction over explosions at an ammunitions dump in Brazzaville that claimed hundreds of lives and caused much destruction to homes and other property.

Radio France Internationale, RFI, said all of the accused, including Col. Ntsourou, pleaded not guilty among others, for threatening State security, aiding and abetting crime, assassination, attacking and wounding security forces and illegal possession of firearms. Prosecutors say Col. Ntsourou proceeded to purchase and stockpile firearms and ammunition to set ablaze filling stations and other public places in Brazzaville after his sentence. The weapons were said to have been supplied by some of the officers who have also been charged.

At least 22 people were killed last December when security forces raided Ntsourou’s home and clashed with his security guards. Gun fire rang out as police and soldiers surrounded the home, shutting down roads, schools and businesses in downtown Brazzaville. A police source said about 100 people were at Ntsourou's house during the fighting. Congo’s Police Chief, General Jean Francois Ndenguet, at the time said they secured a search warrant for the residence after a vehicle carrying gun men who shot at a police man was traced to the house.