Murder, treason, spying and offenses against the State...

Murder, treason, spying and offenses against the State are capital crimes. The 1992 Constitution fully abolished the death penalty, which is still provided for in the Penal Code.
The last execution was carried out in 1982. The Republic of Congo was devastated by civil war between 1997 and 1999. Former marxist military ruler Denis Sassou Nguesso won power again in 1997 with the help of Angola, ousting the then President Pascal Lissouba and his Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas. Militia loyal to Kolelas and Lissouba took up arms in mid-1998, leading to fresh clashes that put hundreds of thousands of civilians (it is said 800.000)to flight in 1999 in the capital's southern suburbs and in the south of the country .
Peace deals between the government and militia commanders in November and December 1999 halted the fighting.