# Congo refugees have little to return home to



## Gunny

> By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Writer  Sun Feb 8, 2:30 pm ET
> 
> KIBATI, Congo  Sylvie Manyamangu gave birth last week out in the open on a chilly night.
> 
> Still, she decided that was better than returning to the home in eastern Congo that she fled from three months ago, carrying whatever she could in a hefty pile on her head.
> 
> "There's nothing left there. They looted everything, even the roof off my house," she said. "If I go back, there will be nothing."
> 
> Still, she acknowledged that the sprawling Kibati refugee camp where she and her eight children have landed was not the best solution either.
> 
> "Here, I also have nothing," she said, one sickly child wrapped on her back and others scurrying around her skirt.
> 
> Manyamangu applauded along with scores of other refugee women when the top U.N. diplomat for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, arrived at their camp to hear their concerns this weekend.



Congo refugees have little to return home to - Yahoo! News


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## waltky

Three quarters of a million refugees in Congo in desperate straits...

*Congo situation desperate, U.N. says*
_Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo is in desperate need of humanitarian support, the United Nations' World Food Program said Friday._


> Fighting by militia groups in the eastern area of the country has led to massive migration of the population, the WFP said in a statement, adding it provided food assistance to 730,000 people in the DRC in July and August.
> 
> "In most cases people have left behind their homes, their fields and their livestock, which are the sole source of their food and income," said Martin Ohlsen, WFP representative in the DRC.
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> "It is important not to forget that this crisis in the East is taking place in one of the poorest countries in the world, where 5.4 million people were already facing chronic hunger or malnutrition."
> 
> Read more: Congo situation desperate, U.N. says - UPI.com


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## ScienceRocks

Like I keep saying, these people NEVER work to better their own fucking life. 

Between the fucked up leadership that only cares for themselves and the people. No wonder Africa is the way it is. What a joke these people are.

Why is it always the white man that needs to help them? lol


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## Intolerant

Have you ever seen a country that was prosperous under black rule?  Four more year's and we will be like this.


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## ScienceRocks

Intolerant said:


> Have you ever seen a country that was prosperous under black rule?  Four more year's and we will be like this.



Nope, 

Maybe one or two that get close to second world. I certainly wouldn't want to walk the streets!


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## waltky

Matthew wrote: _Why is it always the white man that needs to help them?_

Ever read Helter Skelter?


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## waltky

Rwanda helpin' Congo rebels...

*Rwanda arms Congo rebels: UN*
_Thu, Oct 18, 2012 - M23: Experts said Rwandan officials were commanding a group in the DR Congo with help from Uganda, and that recruitment of child solders was growing_


> Rwandas defense minister is commanding a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of the Congos (DR Congo) east that is being armed by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which sent troops to aid the insurgency in a deadly attack on UN peacekeepers, a UN report said.  The UN Security Councils Group of Experts said in a confidential report that Rwanda and Uganda  despite their strong denials  continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in North Kivu Province.  While Rwandan officials coordinated the creation of the rebel movement as well as its major military operations, Ugandas more subtle support to M23 allowed the rebel groups political branch to operate from within Kampala and boost its external relations, the report said.
> 
> Bosco Ntaganda, a former Congolese general wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, controls the rebellion on the ground and M23 leader Sultani Makenga is in charge of operations and coordination with allied armed groups, the UN report said.  Both Ntaganda and Makenga receive direct military orders from RDF [Rwandan Defense Force] Chief of Defense Staff General Charles Kayonga, who in turn acts on instructions from [Rwandan] Minister of Defense General James Kabarebe, it said.
> 
> Uganda and Rwanda have denied the accusations of involvement by the UN experts, who monitor compliance with sanctions and an arms embargo on the Congo and delivered their report to the Security Councils Congo sanctions committee earlier this month.  Rwandan officials exercise overall command and strategic planning for M23, the report said. Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo through direct military support to M23 rebels, facilitation of recruitment, encouragement and facilitation of FARDC [the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo] desertions as well as the provision of arms and ammunition, intelligence, and political advice.  UPDF [Ugandan Peoples Defense Force] commanders sent troops and weapons to reinforce specific M23 operations and assisted in M23s recruitment and weapons procurement efforts in Uganda, it said.
> 
> Nearly half a million people have been displaced due to the fighting. M23 has proven so resilient that one senior UN diplomatic source told reporters that Rwanda has effectively annexed mineral-rich eastern Congo area thanks to the rebel force.  UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said last month that the rebels had set up de facto administration in the Congo, controling the people and collecting taxes.  The rebellion is also being funded by traders in Rwanda who are profiting from tin, tungsten and tantalum smuggled across the border, the report said.  An interim report from the Group of Experts that was published in June raised similar accusations against Rwanda, but with far less detail. Kigali was furious about that report, saying it was one-sided and contained false allegations.  Rwanda has backed armed movements in the Congo during the past two decades, citing a need to tackle Rwandan rebels operating out of Congos eastern hills.
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> MORE



See also:

*Six U.N. peacekeepers in Congo injured*
_Oct. 18,`12 (UPI) -- Six Indian members of a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo along with an interpreter were ambushed and wounded, the U.N. mission said._


> The incident occurred Wednesday near Buganza in North Kivu province in the strife-torn eastern part of the country. The peacekeepers and their interpreter were returning from a patrol when they were attacked by unknown assailants, said the U.N. mission in the African nation. The peacekeepers had earlier found the bodies of four civilians in the area.
> 
> The extent of their injuries was not immediately known but the attack was condemned as "cowardly." The injured peacekeepers are part of India's contingent with the U.N. Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC.  "This premeditated, targeted and deliberate attack is inadmissible," said Roger Meece, head of the U.N. mission. "We will work with the national authorities to identify those responsible for this ignoble deed so that they are called to justice."
> 
> It was in the same province that an Indian peacekeeper was killed last July during clashes between the DRC's armed forces and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group.
> 
> The country's eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have been the scene of many such clashes between DRC troops and the M23 made up of soldiers who'd mutinied in April, the mission said. Their fighting has displaced more than 300,000 people, including those who have sought refuge in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.  The 19,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force has helped bring stability and civilian elections to the country, the mission said.
> 
> Read more: Six U.N. peacekeepers in Congo injured - UPI.com


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## waltky

Congo rebels steppin' over the line...

*UN threatens sanctions against DR Congo rebels*
_Sun, Oct 21, 2012 - The UN Security Council has announced plans to impose sanctions against leaders of the M23 rebel movement for its attacks on civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)._


> In what appeared to be a rebuke to neighboring Rwanda, it insisted on an end to outside backing for the movement.  A recent UN report accused Rwandan Minister of Defense General James Kabarebe of being the de facto commander of the M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo.
> 
> Friday&#8217;s Security Council statement called on M23 and other armed groups in the chronically unstable, but resource-rich region, including the Rwandan army, to &#8220;immediately cease all forms of violence and other destabilizing activities.&#8221;  &#8220;The Security Council expresses its intention to apply targeted sanctions against the leadership of the M23 and those acting in violation of the sanctions regime and the arms embargo,&#8221; it said.
> 
> It expressed &#8220;deep concern&#8221; that M23 was still receiving support from neighboring countries.  &#8220;The Security Council demands that any and all outside support to the M23, as well as other armed groups, cease immediately,&#8221; the statement said.  The council also called on all states in the region to condemn the M23 rebels and to work with the Kinshasa authorities to disarm all armed groups in the region.  UN investigators accuse both Rwanda and Uganda, which border eastern DR Congo, of arming and supporting the M23 rebels.  Rwanda has repeatedly denied accusations that it backs the fighters.
> 
> The M23 rebel force is made up of former fighters in the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), an ethnic Tutsi rebel movement.  The force emerged after an unsuccessful attempt to integrate CNDP fighters into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.  The Security Council statement came a day after the UN General Assembly elected Rwanda as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. It begins its two-year mandate in January.  It follows an attack on Tuesday in which rebel fighters in eastern DR Congo wounded six Indian troops with MONUSCO, the UN mission there, and their interpreter.
> 
> UN threatens sanctions against DR Congo rebels - Taipei Times


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## waltky

Park rangers killed in the Congo...

*Virunga National Park: DR Congo rangers killed*
_26 October 2012 - Rebels recently opened the park to tourists_


> Two rangers and a soldier have been killed by rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo's famous Virunga National Park, officials say.  Five rebels were also killed in the attack in the park, which is one of the world's last refuges for mountain gorillas.  Some of eastern DR Congo's numerous armed groups are based in the park, where they often poach animals.  More than 130 park rangers have been killed in the park since 1996.
> 
> According to Reuters news agency, the M23 rebel group which has bases in the park, recently allowed tourist visits to resume.  This year's rebellion by the M23 has caused some 500,000 people to flee their homes.  Park director Emmanuel de Merode said the rangers, who were travelling with an armed escort were ambushed by members of the Mai Mai militia.  "They came under attack from a quite substantial Mai Mai unit... It was very heavy fire received," he told Reuters.
> 
> In July, armed groups fighting in the area agreed to let a search for mountain gorillas to proceed.  Virunga is home to 480 of the world's 790 remaining mountain gorillas. It is one of the most bio-diverse places on Earth and is on the UN list of World Heritage sites in danger.  The mountain gorillas have been threatened with extinction because of expanding human settlements, the long-running conflict in the region, and possible oil exploration in the park.
> 
> BBC News - Virunga National Park: DR Congo rangers killed


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## waltky

Battle for Kibumba in the Congo...

*UN attack helicopters hit rebels in eastern Congo*
_17 Nov.`12  - United Nations attack helicopters hit rebels positions in eastern Congo on Saturday after insurgents gained ground in heavy fighting, the U.N. said._


> The clashes to the south of the town Kibumba mean the rebels have got to within 30 km (18 miles) of Goma, the closest they have been to North Kivu's provincial capital since a rebellion began there eight months ago.  North Kivu governor Julien Paluku said the army retreated to the southern outskirts of the town after M23 rebels received support from neighbouring Rwanda.  Rwanda rejected the accusations, the latest in a string of charges by Kinshasa, and called on both the army and the rebels to halt the fighting as shells were landing in its territory.  More than five million people are estimated to have died from violence, hunger and disease in wars in Congo since 1998. It is the deadliest conflict since World War Two.
> 
> United Nations experts say they have evidence of Rwanda's rebel support and want the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Rwandan officials as a result.  "The Rwandan army came across the border behind our troops, that's why our troops withdrew," Paluku told Reuters by telephone.  "The (rebels) are just a few kilometres away, so of course Goma is under threat, we can't hide that," he said, adding that government troops were reorganising at Kilimanyoka, 12 km north of the city.  The U.N. peace keeping mission in Congo said army units had come under heavy weapons fire since early on Saturday morning, forcing civilians to flee and leading to U.N. attack helicopters being dispatched to strike rebels positions south of Kibumba.  "So far ten missions have been carried out by our attack helicopters," the U.N. said in a statement. The U.N. has a mandate to protect civilians and support government troops when they need it.  No casualty figures have been given by any force.
> 
> Rwanda's army has repeatedly sent soldiers into Congo during nearly two decades of conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region but Kigali has vehemently denied Congolese and U.N. accusations of support for the M23.  "These are absolutely false allegations. They are very tired, and very old. Whenever DRC (the Democratic Republic of Congo) is defeated on the battlefield it's meant to be (Rwanda's army)," Rwandan army spokesman Brigadier General Joseph Nzabamwita told Reuters.  "Rwanda has called on (Congo's army) and M23 to stop this useless war ... Rwanda is being violated by constant bomb shells on our territory," he added.
> 
> More than three-quarters of a million people have been forced to flee their homes since the fighting began, and regional efforts to find a solution have so far failed.  M23 spokesman Vianney Kazarama told Reuters the rebels were now in control of Kibumba but said they would not advance further. "We're stopping here, we're waiting, we're not going to Goma," he said, reiterating a call for the government to start negotiations.  Congo's government - backed by U.N. peace keepers - has been struggling to maintain control of its restive eastern provinces since April, after hundreds of troops mutinied and launched the M23 uprising.
> 
> UN attack helicopters hit rebels in eastern Congo - Yahoo! News


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## waltky

Gomans flee ahead of rebel advance...

*DR Congo conflict: UN aid agencies warn of crisis*
_23 November 2012 - Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes as the rebels advanced_


> The UN has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebels took the eastern city of Goma on Tuesday.
> 
> Aid officials said the fighting has made camps for people displaced by earlier conflicts inaccessible, with food and medicines running short.  Agencies say civilians also face killings, abductions and extortion at the hands of the M23 rebels.
> 
> Armed groups have battled over mineral-rich eastern DR Congo for two decades.  The M23 rebel group was formed eight months ago by soldiers who defected from the army and is widely believed to be backed by Rwanda and Uganda.
> 
> Their exact aims are unclear but they have also advanced beyond Goma, the biggest city in eastern DR Congo, taking the town of Sake despite a loyalist fightback.  They have threatened to march on the capital, Kinshasa, if President Joseph Kabila does not open negotiations with them.
> 
> *'Extremely concerned'*



See also:

*Congo fires army chief after rebel seizure of Goma*
_Nov 23,`12 -- Congo's president has suspended the army's chief of staff, following the publication of a United Nations report which reveals that Gen. Gabriel Amisi oversaw a criminal network selling arms to rebels in the country's troubled east._


> The firing of the general indicates that Congo is finally getting tough on its notoriously dysfunctional and internally divided army. It comes as an eight-month-old rebel group, made up of soldiers who defected from the army, pushed beyond Goma, the bustling regional capital of eastern Congo, which fell to the fighters earlier this week.  On Friday, M23 rebels patrolled the town of Sake, the next town on the road south from Goma. They manned checkpoints, drank vodka in local bars and let the corpses of Congolese soldiers rot in the streets. One of the soldier's bodies bore an execution-style bullet wound to the temple.
> 
> The rebellion is led by soldiers who defected from the Congolese army. Before their recent defection, their commanders benefited from a privileged relationship with Congo's government, despite mounting evidence of their complicity in grave abuses. The leader of the M23 is believed to be Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.  Tens of thousands of civilians could be seen fleeing along a 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch of the road to Goma, carrying mattresses and cooking pots on their heads, as well as live chickens, goats, and babies bundled on their backs. The town of Sake was nearly deserted. A lone father returned to his empty house. He had fled on Thursday when the shooting erupted, but lost track of his four children in the scramble to get out of town. The youngest are just 2 and 4 years old, he said.  "We heard shots from the hills," said Timothe Mashamba. "We fled, but now I have returned. I lost my four children when we fled and haven't found them. I am waiting for them here. I can't leave. They won't know where to find me."
> 
> The president of neighboring Uganda was acting as a go-between for the two sides, and on Friday, one of the leaders of M23, Bishop Jean-Marie Runiga was in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, for talks, said deputy rebel spokesman Amani Kabasha. Earlier in the week, both Congolese President Joseph Kabila, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is accused of arming the rebels, met in Uganda for an attempted mediation.  The two presidents agreed on certain principles and were now discussing them with M23, said the rebel spokesman.  "They (Kagame, Kabila) took decisions in Kampala and now they want to talk to Bishop Runiga about them. Joseph Kabila said in his communique that he would talk to us, and that is what we want," said the rebel spokesman.
> 
> Congo's troubled east has been plagued by decades of violence, and the latest rebellion is a reincarnation of a previous conflict. The rebel group that took Goma dubs itself the M23, a reference to the March 23, 2009 peace deal that paved the way for fighters from a now-defunct rebel group to join the army. Charging that the peace accord was not implemented, soldiers defected from the Congo army in April to form the M23. Both the M23 and the previous rebel group, known as the CNDP, are widely believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda, which has fought two wars against its much-larger neighbor.
> 
> MORE


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## waltky

Congo warlord holed up in US embassy...

*Congo warlord Bosco Ntaganda remains at US Embassy*
_Mar 19,`13  -- Wanted on an international warrant for alleged war crimes, Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda lived openly in Congo for years, playing tennis at exclusive clubs and dining at lakeside restaurants in full view of foreign diplomats and U.N. peacekeepers._


> That all ended when the 39-year-old known as "The Terminator" suddenly turned himself in Monday to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda and asked to be handed over to the International Criminal Court - a surprise move that followed a split in Ntaganda's rebel group and apparent loss of support from his backers in the Rwandan government.  "My best guess is that his options came down to go to The Hague or be killed," Tony Gambino, the former director of USAID in Congo, said of the about-face by Ntaganda, one of Africa's most-wanted men.
> 
> In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that Ntaganda would remain at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali while U.S. officials worked to "facilitate his transfer to The Hague at his own request."  Noting that Rwanda's Justice Ministry had promised safe passage, she said, "now it's a matter of working out the modalities, and that's going to take a little time."
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> Bosco Ntaganda, seated center, holds a press conference with Congo Interior Minister Celestine Mboyo, right, in Goma, Congo, as rebel leader Ntaganda agreed to work with the Congolese government. The government of Rwanda said Monday, March 18, 2013, that Ntaganda, who had been on the run in neighboring Congo, had turned himself in to the United States Embassy in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Ntaganda has become one of Africa's symbols of impunity. Despite an outstanding warrant from the International Criminal Court, which indicted him on war crimes in 2006, he became a general in the Congolese army, living in an upscale villa and playing tennis in his spare time.
> 
> Ntaganda, an ethnic Tutsi, was first indicted in 2006 by the ICC for allegedly building an army of child soldiers during a 2002-2003 conflict in Congo's eastern Ituri province. A second arrest warrant issued last July accused him of a range of crimes, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and pillaging.  Those who until recently fought alongside him say that Ntaganda fled Congo over the weekend after his men lost a key battle against fighters who split off last month from his M23 rebel movement.
> 
> Ntaganda was long believed to have been backed by Rwanda, which provided financial and logistical support to the ethnic Tutsi rebels he commanded in Congo's mineral-rich east.  After the rebels seized the Congolese city of Goma in November, U.N. investigators issued a day-by-day outline of the invasion, detailing how Rwanda equipped, trained, advised, reinforced and directly commanded the rebellion, including sending four companies from Rwanda's 305th brigade across the border to conduct operations.
> 
> MORE



See also:

*Will Bosco Ntaganda's surrender bring peace to DR Congo?*
_19 March 2013 - On the retreat in the battlefield, wanted war crimes suspect and Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda has raised the white flag, fleeing to Rwanda and handing himself into the US embassy in Kigali._


> Known as "the Terminator", over the last two decades Gen Ntaganda has fought for several rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well as serving as a general in the Congolese army - and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  It is unclear why he has chosen to surrender to the ICC - or why he chose Washington's embassy in Rwanda - neither the US nor Rwanda recognise the tribunal, unlike many other states in Africa and Europe.
> 
> But they will now have to co-operate with the ICC so that he can be transferred to The Hague to stand trial - or risk a diplomatic outcry at a time when the United Nations is spearheading new efforts to end the conflict in a country two-thirds the size of western Europe.  Despite denials by Rwanda's government, DR Congo has repeatedly accused it of backing Gen Ntaganda.  "The fact that he showed up in Kigali raises a lot of questions. He could have also showed up in Uganda [another neighbour of DR Congo], but he decided to do that in Kigali," Thierry Vircoulon, of the think-tank International Crisis Group, told the BBC.  "Was it because it was the only way out or because he also wanted to embarrass his former sponsor?"
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> 'Shot at'
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> Born in Rwanda and raised in DR Congo, Gen Ntaganda and President Paul Kagame's government in Kigali were once staunch allies, bound together by ethnic ties - both come from the minority Tutsi ethnic group which feels threatened since the genocide that saw hard-line Hutu militias kill some 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994.  Gen Ntaganda fought for Mr Kagame against Rwanda's Hutu-led government in the early 1990s.
> 
> After Mr Kagame took power in 1994, Bosco Ntaganda served as a bulwark in eastern DR Congo against the Hutu militias that took refuge there after being driven out of Rwanda at the end of the genocide.  Gen Ntaganda also fought the Congolese government, accusing it of oppressing DR Congo's own Tutsi population living in the east, near the border with Rwanda.  He fled to the US embassy after his M23 rebel movement, which was formed last year after an army mutiny, split last month.
> 
> More http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21844332


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## waltky

Bosco Ntaganda stands accused of war crimes allegedly committed in 2002-2003...

*DR Congo's Bosco Ntaganda in ICC custody*
_22 March 2013 - Congolese war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda has arrived in The Hague from Rwanda and is in the custody of the International Criminal Court._


> Gen Ntaganda, a key figure in the conflict in eastern DR Congo, surrendered to the US embassy in Kigali on Monday.  The ICC has charged him with 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which Gen Ntaganda denies.  His first appearance before judges is scheduled for next Tuesday.  At the hearing before a pre-trial chamber, he will be informed of the charges against him - and dates for future appearances will be set.
> 
> Gen Ntaganda is the first suspect to surrender himself voluntarily to the ICC's custody.  "This is a good day for victims in the DRC and for international justice," ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.  "Today those who have long suffered at the hands of Bosco Ntaganda can look forward to the prospects of justice taking its course."  Known as "The Terminator", Gen Ntaganda has fought for a number of rebel groups as well as the Congolese army.
> 
> Most recently, he was believed to be one of the leaders of the M23 rebel movement, which has been fighting government troops in the east.  He is accused of seven counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ituri, DR Congo, between 2002-2003. The charges include enlisting child soldiers, murder, rape and sexual slavery.  The DR Congo government has said that Gen Ntaganda, who comes from the Tutsi ethnic group, crossed into Rwanda on Saturday after he and some of his followers were defeated by a rival faction of the M23 group.
> 
> Eastern DR Congo has long suffered from high levels of violence linked to ethnic rivalries and competition for the control of mineral resources.  A statement from the ICC thanked the US, Rwanda and DR Congo for helping secure the transfer of Gen Ntaganda to The Hague.  But it also urged urged them to "renew and refocus their efforts" to secure the arrests of other suspects who remain at large, including Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) commander Sylvestre Mudacumura, and the top commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army.
> 
> BBC News - DR Congo's Bosco Ntaganda in ICC custody


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## waltky

ICC to put Ntaganda on trial...

*ICC to Put Congolese Warlord on Trial for War Crimes*
_June 09, 2014  Prosecutors have presented enough evidence to justify putting on trial a Congolese militia leader accused of rape, murder and enlisting child soldiers, judges at the International Criminal Court said on Monday._


> Bosco Ntaganda, widely known as the Terminator, surrendered to the U.S. embassy in the Rwandan capital Kigali in March and was transferred to the ICC in The Hague.  Judges said in a statement there was sufficient evidence of his involvement to proceed to a trial. He will face 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in a surge of ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo more than a decade ago.
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> Bosco Ntaganda awaits the start of a hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
> 
> Prosecutors will now seek to prove the charges against Ntaganda, who commanded the United of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia, in a trial.  There was a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population, the judges said in a statement. The UPC militia targeted civilians perceived to be non-Hema, such as those belonging to Lendu, Bira and Nande ethnic groups.
> 
> Success for court
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> The decision marked a rare success for prosecutors, who have struggled to build solid cases at the court, established more than a decade ago to prosecute individuals responsible for war crimes.  The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Monday's decision would open the way for broader justice in wartorn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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> A Congolese government army soldier displays a mortar round after his unit returned from the frontline of fighting against rebel forces believed to be led by former warlord Bosco Ntaganda, in Kinyamahura, Congo.
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> The ICC decision sending Ntaganda to trial opens the door to justice for victims of horrific crimes in Ituri, said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, international justice advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.  Ntaganda's upcoming trial will send a powerful message to those responsible for grave crimes in Congo that justice will eventually catch up with them.
> 
> ICC to Put Congolese Warlord on Trial for War Crimes


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