ICC Issues Warrant For Rwandan Hutu Rebel Leader

Posted July 13th, 2012 at 2:50 pm (UTC-5)
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The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a Rwandan Hutu militia leader accused of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo .

The court Friday said Sylvestre Mudacumura is wanted on five counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of war crimes, including murder, rape and mutilation.

Mudacumura is a military commander for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known as the FDLR. The court says the rebel group, based in the eastern DRC, attacked civilians in 2009 and 2010.

The FDLR was established by ethnic Hutus who took part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of Tutsis and fled to Congo after the killing spree was stopped.

The court Friday also issued a second arrest warrant for another Congolese militia commander. The court says it is adding more charges against Bosco Ntaganda who leads the CNDP militia in eastern DRC.

In a 2006 warrant, Ntaganda was accused of recruiting and using child soldiers. In the latest warrant, the court charged him with murder, rape, sexual slavery and attacks against civilians, among other crimes.

Ntaganda's militia group was previously integrated into the Congolese army. Soldiers loyal to him left the army earlier this year after complaining of their treatment, amid threats by Congolese President Joseph Kabila to arrest Ntaganda.

The judges accepted court prosecutors' request for warrants after initially rejecting their application in May. The court said in May that prosecutors did not give enough specifics against Mudacumura.