Congolese warlord guilty of war crimes: ICC

A Congolese warlord has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity between 2002-2003 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday.

Bosco Ntaganda was on trial for 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity, committed in the Ituri province in the northeastern DRC, in 2002 and 2003, the ICC said in a press release.

The court said: "A total of 2,129 victims, represented by their legal counsel, Ms Sarah Pellet and Mr Dmytro Suprun from the ICC Office for Public Counsel for the Victims, participated in the trial after having been authorised by the Chamber to do so."

Ntaganda was the alleged Deputy Chief of Staff and commander of operations of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an organized armed group involved in two conflicts in Ituri in 2002 and 2003, according to the ICC.

Trial Chamber VI found that the UPC and its military wing, the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), "were at all times involved in at least one non-international armed conflict with an opposing party, in Ituri," the statement said.

"In order to determine Mr Ntaganda's sentence in this case, the Chamber will receive submissions from the parties and participants regarding the possible sentence, and will schedule a separate hearing, to receive evidence and address matters related to sentencing. Pending the decision on sentencing, Mr Ntaganda continues to be detained," the ICC said.

His trial opened on Sept. 2, 2015, with closing statements in Aug. 28-30, 2018.

Ntanganda, nicknamed the "Terminator" handed himself to the U.S. embassy in Kigali Rwanda on March 18, 2013. He then requested to be transferred to the ICC in The Hague.