ICC Seeks Arrest of Congolese Militia Leader
By VOA News
29 April 2008
The International Criminal Court has made public an arrest warrant for a Congolese militia leader wanted for recruiting child soldiers.
Bosco Ntaganda, also known as "the Terminator," is believed to be chief of staff for renegade General Laurent Nkunda and his rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
An ICC statement Tuesday says the rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People, is accused of committing very serious crimes in Congo's Kivu provinces, including sexual crimes of "unspeakable cruelty."
The arrest warrant says Ntaganda was also an officer with the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), where he is alleged to have recruited soldiers under the age of 15.
That militia was led by Thomas Lubanga, whose trial at the International Criminal Court starts in June.
Lubanga led the group in the eastern DRC during the country's 1998 to 2003 civil war. He has denied charges that he recruited thousands of children to fight in the conflict.
Two other former Congolese militia leaders - Germain Katanga and Mathiew Ndugjolo - also face trial by the court, for their roles in a 2003 attack that destroyed an eastern Congolese village and killed some 200 people.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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