ICC welcomes DRC rebel's surrender
2013-03-19 12:01
The Hague - The International Criminal Court on Tuesday
welcomed wanted DRC rebel Bosco Ntaganda's surrender to the US embassy in
Kigali and said they wanted him transferred to The Hague as soon as possible.
"The ICC welcomes news of Bosco [Ntaganda's]
surrender," the Office of the Prosecutor said in an email to AFP. "We
will liaise with the relevant authorities in the region to facilitate his
immediate surrender to the ICC."
"This is great news for the people of the DR Congo who
had to suffer from the crimes of an ICC fugitive for too long," it added.
Ntaganda, who is wanted by the ICC for a string of alleged
atrocities, surrendered to the US embassy in the Rwandan capital on Monday.
US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said he has
asked to be transferred to the ICC - the world's permanent independent war
crimes court - and Washington is in contact with the ICC and the Rwandan
government.
DRC officials said on Sunday that Ntaganda had fled to
neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused by Kinshasa and the United Nations
of masterminding, arming and even commanding M23 rebels in the resource-rich
east of the vast country.
Ntaganda, a former general nicknamed "The
Terminator" and widely seen as the instigator of the M23 group's rebellion
against Kinshasa last year, is wanted by the ICC on charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity including rape, murder and recruiting child soldiers.
